About 4 lakh first-time voters in the district are expected to make a beeline for polling stations on Wednesday to cast their votes. While on one hand they are an excited lot, on the other hand they have a mixed feeling about the leaders representing various political parties and are not very happy the way campaigning had gone about. But the good feeling is that they are clear in their mind, much focussed and has been able to keep all the lures at a distance, especially the students.
Sowmya, second-year CSE student, said she would be going to the polling station along with her parents in the first hour of polling. “I am excited about it and it feels that as if I have just become the legal citizen of the country,” she said.
But at the same time she echoed that she was not very happy the way the campaigning was taken up by the political parties. “I expected more. I thought that there would be public debates, where the contesting candidates would thrash it out to showcase their abilities. But it was more of a show of power,” she said.
For Surya Kannan, second year EEE student, the campaign fell short of his expectation. “None of the leaders got down to our level. They did not come out clear on the plans to develop the education system and job prospects post bifurcation of the State,” he said.For Praveen, third year engineering student, a stable government at the Centre and the State was important. A first time voter, Praveen, feels none of the local leaders has the leadership material. “That was evident from the campaign that they undertook. They should have realised that campaigning was not about road shows, motorcycle rallies, distributing money and liquor and getting a few film stars to voice for them. They should have focused more on healthy debates and asked the young minds to participate,” he said.
Well, the young minds seek stability and that is why they would come out and vote for a stable party, but are unhappy both with the local leaders profile and the campaigning style that they had adopted.
