Wednesday, May 13, 2009

My First(s) !!!


My First Vote today as well as my first post........

I registered on this site quite some time back but till date haven't contributed anything. But I couldn't stop myself from writing today. I am very excited because I voted for the first time. Well I am 27 but could not vote because for the last 9 years as I am staying outside Kolkata. So today when I got my chance, I exercised it. :)

The Calcutta Times edition for today had some news on Bengali celebrities and their feelings on Voting. Surprisingly, some of them said they don't like to vote because they don't like the candidates or hate politics. Obviously it's their personal opinion, but I expected much more responsible answers from them. Many youngsters follow them. It's my right to Vote and I should exercise it. I doubt how many of us like the candidates actually but that should not deter us from voting. We should choose the best one among them. And I feel that's the case everywhere. You won't get a black & white choice most of the time.

While discussing with my relatives regarding election et al. , I got a feeling that most of them vote from their hearts. May be that's the conventional Indian mentality. I voted for the candidate I believed will have a say in the parliament for the well-being of my Constituency (depending on his past political record and my gut feeling on whether UPA/NDA will come to power).

The worst feeling for me was the poll violence. West Bengal saw an unprecedented number of paramilitary forces deployed this time. Still they happened and people died. "Ten persons, including a 30-month-old baby, were killed in a week, leaving a gory trail since phase I of polls in the state on April 30!!!" (Read more - TOI, May 10). I get an empty feeling while reading these news - What is our judiciary and the legislation doing? Aren't there any ways to stop them???

For the first time voters, I think the following things are important:

1. Know whether you have the necessary documents to vote. Click here to know more. Also, if there are any errors in your EPIC, you can fill up Form 004 (ECI-EPIC-004) or Form 003 (ECI-EPIC -003) in case of defects in EPIC & issue of duplicate cards and submit it to The Electoral Registration Officer of your Constituency. (I found out that my DOB information is wrong but I voted as I was registered in the voter list. If you don't have an EPIC, then you can take any one of the following:
• Passport,
• Driving License,
• PAN card,
• Govt or Semi-Govt service ID
• Passbook of any Nationalised Bank/ Post-Office/ Kishan issued before a certain date,
• SC/ST Certificate,
• Pension Document etc.

2. Know your Candidate. Visit http://myneta.info/
3. Know how to Vote. Click here for Election Commission's Video on Youtube (Part1, Part2, and Part3).


Waiting for the results like never before.... :)

Spread Awareness. Voting is your right. Exercise it!!!

1 comment:

Pritha said...

Its been quite a while since u hve posted sumthing new !