The excitement was palpable among young voters on Sunday as they proudly showed off their inked fingers after casting votes, even as many seemed clueless about the pressing and pertinent issues in their localities.
When queried, Danista Musarrat, 19, first-time voter from south Delhi's Kalindi Kunj, said MCD stood for Municipal Community for Delhi. For 20-year-old Gauri Bhattacharya, a resident of Chittaranjan Park, it stood for Municipal Corporation of Development.
When asked about the issues that they were voting for, Musarrat said: "I don't know much about the issues in my locality but I have come here to fulfill my responsibility as a citizen of Delhi."
Similarly, 23-year-old Mehar, a resident of Civil Lines, also looked confused when asked about the significance of MCD. "Well, I don't know much about it but I think MCD is responsible for everything that's bad in my area."
A group of youngsters in east Delhi's Mayur Vihar confused the civic polls with the Assembly polls. "We all should vote to ensure a good government and a good Chief Minister in the city," IT professional Priyanka Sharma, 23, said.
In north Delhi's Civil Lines, Rahul Singh, 21, also joined the ranks of excited young voters. He, however, seemed quite aware of the issues. "I did not know about the role of MCD initially, but then I read about it. I understood that my vote is very important as it will decide the face of my locality for the next five years," he said.
Similarly, second-year Delhi University (DU) student Soumya Gupta came out to vote in a bid to ensure cleanliness in her locality. "Garbage is the major issue in my area, Janakpuri, and I want a permanent solution to it," she said.
But then there were others who did not even come out to vote. This despite the fact that almost all political parties tried hard to make their MCD campaigns more youth oriented. In most areas, senior citizens easily outnumbered the young. "Very few youngsters turned up in comparison to senior citizens," Greater Kailash part-II booth official said.
5 COPS FOR 3 VOTERS
State Election Commission (SEC) set up a proper polling station for only three voters in south Delhi’s Keshopur on Sunday. Till a few days ago, polling station number 21 in Ward number 12 had just two voters and then three days ago one more joined. For these three people, the commission deployed seven staffers and five policemen at the polling station set up at the primary school in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) campus in Mahavir Nagar.
24,000: Number of 18-year-old voters
76,000: Number of 19-year-old voters
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