First-time voters after casting their ballots in Aruna Nagar, Delhi on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Delhi’s first-time voters said they cast their ballot for better civic amenities. While some hoped to get better schools in their localities, others wished for well-maintained public utilities. Many young boys and girls, who queued up to vote on Sunday, said candidate profiles and party manifestoes also weighed upon their minds.
In Kotla Mubarakpur ward’s Tula Nagar area, Anjali, a first-time voter, said she was upset with dirty public toilets and an overflowing sewer line in her area.
“Before the 2020 Assembly polls, municipal workers dug up a road in my colony to lay a new pipe but never returned to finish the work. It remained in that condition until the residents got it levelled with their own money,” said the B.Com (2nd year) student. She added that public toilets in her locality were “extremely dirty and always stank” despite multiple complaints to the municipality.
Anjali said she voted for the party that she believed was best placed to deal with such issues.
‘Want improved schools’
Diya, 18, who cast her vote early morning in Sriniwaspuri, rued about broken desks and unhygienic washrooms in the MCD-run schools in her locality.
Arnav Sharma, 23, a college student and a resident of Sarita Vihar, said roads in his neighbourhood are dug frequently causing traffic jams and inconvenience to pedestrians.
“Why can’t these construction activities be planned better? I am voting with these issues in mind, hoping they are resolved,” he said.
Sujal Gupta, 18, said he wanted to give chance to a new face.
“I’ve seen what the current leaders have done here. I checked the profiles of the candidates in my area and the basic agendas of their parties before deciding whom to vote for,” said Sujal, a B.Tech student at Ghaziabad’s ABES Engineering College.
He added, “It was a unique experience to cast my first vote and help elect the councillor of the area.”
Another first-time voter, Riya, 18, said going through the manifestoes of various parties and consulting her elders had help her decide.
Kunal Raj, a first-time voter, said he would observe whether the candidate he has voted for keeps his promises after winning.
Of the 1.45 crore voters in Delhi, 95,0000 are registered as first-time voters.