Tharoor votes for the first time, says he is proud

A first-time voter, former UN diplomat and Congress Lok Sabha candidate from here
Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said he was proud to exercise his franchise in his home land, after having remained an NRI all his life.

"This is a proof that I have finally cast a vote in the Indian democracy," Tharoor said, after casting his vote at a polling booth in this Kerala capital.

Tharoor, who left India when he was 19, shifted his base to Thiruvananthapuram after his tenure as Under-Secretary at the United Nations ended a year ago.

"It is a great privilege to vote. And the extra bonus is to vote for myself," he said.

The high-profile Congress candidate said judging by the enthusiasm and response of voters in the last weeks "if all those turns into vote, I should be able to walk along."