Stopping by the polling booth on wedding day (Punjab poll diary)
January 30th, 2012 - 7:10 pm ICT by IANSChandigarh, Jan 30 (IANS) Dressed in full wedding finery, a groom in Punjab’s Patiala town went the extra mile — literally — to exercise his franchise Monday.
The groom took a detour and stopped by at the polling station while going for his marriage ceremony to cast his vote. Dressed in an off-white sherwani and full wedding gear, he was accompanied by other members of his baraat, the wedding procession. Security personnel and election officials were amused and impressed both to see the determination of this die-hard voter.
“We get the chance to choose our legislators only after five years. We should not let it go waste,” the groom said.
Now here’s one instance of a man committed to democracy even before he makes that commitment of a lifetime.
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Right to reject
The groom who would be voter first was not the only interesting facet of Punjab’s one-day election to 117 assembly seats.
Eighty people in the Garhshankar assembly seat in Hoshiarpur district got together and filled the required form to exercise their right to reject all the candidates in the fray from their seat. The group arrived at their polling station and exercised their right together.
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Vintage charm
People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) president and former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal is known for his unique style. While uncle, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, and cousin, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, came in luxury SUVs with full security paraphernalia, Manpreet chose to drive himself to the polling station in Badal village in an open vintage American Jeep.
“It is chilly today and I thought of bringing this vintage American Jeep to warm it up on election day,” Manpreet said.
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Draw of lots
In Badal village, the predicament for voters was to make a choice between three Badals in the fray from the Lambi assembly seat. These three were Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his younger brother and PPP candidate Gurdas Badal and Congress candidate Maheshinder Singh Badal. Since some families of the village could not divide their choice among the Badals, they chose to take out lottery chits to make their choice on whom to vote for.
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High spirits
Even on polling day, Punjab’s ’spirits’ seemed high. Sangrur police seized a truck carrying nearly 1,000 cases of an Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brand from near Chhajli village in the district Monday. The liquor was meant for last minute voters.
- All set for Punjab vote count - Mar 05, 2012
- Nearly 40 percent vote in Punjab polls (Afternoon Lead) - Jan 30, 2012
- Record voting in Punjab, nearly 77 cast franchise (Intro Roundup) - Jan 31, 2012
- Polling under way in Punjab (Lead) - Jan 30, 2012
- 65 per cent voting in Punjab (Evening Lead) - Jan 30, 2012
- Badal vs Badal vs Badal in Punjab's Lambi seat - Jan 07, 2012
- Bright and sunny as polling picks up in Punjab (Second Lead) - Jan 30, 2012
- 'Clouds' galore over Punjab's electoral skies - Jan 26, 2012
- Over 77 percent voting in Punjab, one killed in violence (Roundup) - Jan 30, 2012
- Polling booth No.106: Where the feuding Badals converge - Jan 30, 2012
- 1.76 crore Punjab residents to vote Monday - Jan 29, 2012
- Prominent candidates in Punjab assembly polls - Jan 28, 2012
- Parkash Singh Badal pitted against brother for Lambi seat - Dec 31, 2011
- All eyes on Lambi as Punjab heads for assembly polls - Jan 28, 2012
- Punjab results decimate Manpreet Badal, PPP - Mar 06, 2012
Tags: american jeep, assembly seat, assembly seats, baraat, deputy chief minister, election officials, finance minister, full security, manpreet singh, marriage ceremony, parkash singh badal, patiala, polling booth, polling station, security personnel, sherwani, sukhbir badal, vintage charm, wedding finery, wedding procession