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Express News Service
GHAZIABAD: For first-time voters in the satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad, which went to polls in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections on Thursday, it’s all about better infrastructure, greater mobility and a corruption-free government. Excited to hold on to their voting slips, young voters were seen lining up at the polling booths across the city happy to cast their first vote.
While Noida and Greater Noida under Gautam Buddh Nagar district are relatively new cities with high-rises and modern facilities, scores of residential towers coming up over the past years have added a large young population in the 18-21 age-group, who got the first chance to exercise their franchise in the assembly polls and since the pandemic struck.
Most of the youth in this age-group said that better roads, connectivity and a government that is pro-people instead of “pro-corruption” are attributes they are keen to vote for. Anamika Gupta, 19, a first-time voter, happy to pose with her inked finger, told The Morning Standard, that she had been waiting for the polling day since her voter card was made. “It is only when you go inside the polling booth before the EVM that you feel what means to cast one’s vote is and chose one’s own government,” said Gupta, who was accompanied by her parents to a polling station in Ghaziabad.
Queues could be seen outside polling stations early morning, after which the crowd thinned out while it again picked up after mid-day when many youngsters, senior citizens and even groups of students were seen coming out in large numbers. Polls were held on Thursday for 58 assembly constituencies spread across 11 districts in Western Uttar Pradesh. Polling began at 7 am and went on till 6.30 pm at some of the booths.
Anuj Sharma, 20, an engineering student from Noida Extension, had come with a group of friends to the polling station. “We decided to come together to celebrate our first vote. Connectivity is a major issue here. While there is the Metro, which is yet to come up in most areas, the auto rickshaws overcharge commuters just to reach the nearest metro station. Also, the electricity is too expensive, as most societies run just on DG sets. We want a government that is both pro-people and pro-youth,” said Sharma.
Many also said they had convinced their friends, who were not so keen to come out and vote. “I told my friends, who were initially like what difference does it make if they vote or not, to come out and fulfill their duty as a citizen. It was a nice feeling after casting my vote,” said 20-year-old Rajat Sikka, a medical student. Given that these are the first elections to be conducted since the pandemic began, the administration ensured thermal screening and sanitisation facilities at all booths.
Queues outside polling stationQueues could be seen outside polling stations early morning, after which the crowd thinned out while it again picked up after mid-day when many youngsters, senior citizens and even groups of college students were seen coming out in large numbers to cast their votes.
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