Manini and Vijay Kumar Tehshildar rushed to the voting booth before they drove to the marriage hall in Khasayi Galli in Belagavi, where they were to wed on Saturday.
The couple was dressed in their wedding finery and stood in the queue, before the polling personnel noticed them. The couple was then allowed to jump the queue and vote.
The presiding officer wished them a happy married life. Manini told reporters later that she and the groom had discussed this soon after poll dates were announced. “We knew the dates would clash. We decided to vote first and get married later,” she said and urged the youth to exercise their franchise without fail.
In Mangaluru, a teacher by profession, Violla Maria Fernandes, stood as an example for her students. She exercised her franchise before her wedding on Saturday.
Ms. Fernandes, daughter of Victor and Mary Fernades and a resident of Pachchanadi, teaches at St. Lawrence English Medium School, Bondel, in the city. She was the first voter to caste vote at polling booth No. 129 set up at the same school coming under Mangaluru City North Assembly constituency.
Immediately after exercising franchise, Ms. Fernandes rushed to Belthangady, which is around 60 km away, where she was to wed Sylvester Rodrigues at 10.30 a.m. Incidentally, Mr. Rodrigues too is said to have exercised his franchise at Belthangady before the wedding.
Staney Alvares, President of Rachana—Catholic Chamber of Commerce, Mangaluru, who coaxed the Fernandes' family to exercise their right, told The Hindu that not only Ms. Violla, but all her family members, including parents and younger siblings, voted before leaving for the wedding.
