By IANS,
Jaipur : Enthusiasm to cast their votes Thursday saw the elderly and the young alike heading for polling stations in droves in Rajasthan. An 85-year-old incapacitated woman was a case in point.
Her two sons ferried Qureshi Bano to the polling station in a palanquin (palki) in the state’s education hub of Kota.
“I do not want to miss the opportunity to vote, though I am not well. I asked my sons to take me to the polling booth and they brought me in this palki”, said Qureshi Bano.
* Vintage vehicles to vote
In Jaipur, a voter drove in on a 1931 model motorcycle, while another came trundling in a vintage car.
Laxminarayan Tak came in from the walled city on a horse cart with his family and there was Yaseen, who brought his family of nine on a cycle cart.
* New clothes for polls
For some, elections are festival time. Some were dressed colourfully, others even bought new clothes to vote.
“I always buy new clothes whenever I go to vote and this time I have got this new kurta,” said Naimuddin, 85, in state capital Jaipur’s walled area.
Draped in traditional colourful dresses, women in some villages sang and danced their way to the polling stations. They went in groups of fives and tens.
“It is just like a festival for us. We get this opportunity once in four to five years,” said Heera Meena, a resident of Bassi village near Jaipur.
*Holiday mood
There were some who were in a holiday mood and wished to relax or go to the movies.
“It is a holiday. I am here with my friends to watch a movie; I did not go to vote, I am not interested in these politicians”, said Radhika, a 20-year-old college student.
There were reports of heavy rush in cinema halls in the state.