The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A real high for first-timers

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Monday, May 12, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A real high for first-timers

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: They may have had varied reasons to vote for a particular candidate, but the first-timers were on a high after exercising their franchise on Saturday.

“It felt great to vote. I got a sense of being an adult. I felt a deep sense of responsibility and understood the weight of the decision that I just made,” said Archana Balakrishnan, an 18-year-old as she came out of the polling station at the Mahadevapura constituency. “In case there is a close-run-situation between my candidate and another, then I know that mine might have just been the deciding vote,” she says. Krupa J., a 19-year-old, and another voter of the same constituency, said, “It feels good to have voted because I was able to have my say, and my opinions matter. I do not really feel empowered because my vote may not do much — but at least I would not be left wondering if my staying away could have contributed to my candidate’s possible loss.” For Chaitra N., her decision on which candidate to vote for was based on what she gathered from the media and her peers. “I have been following the news for some time now. If you think you are just one person with one vote then you will be disheartened. Think of it as many people with one vote each.”

Voting blindly

But, not all voters had strong opinions about the candidates in their constituency. Some confessed to voting blindly, whereas some others said they had only minimal knowledge about their candidates.

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Karnataka