Many of these students set foot in polling stations for the first time on Wednesday. Some of them did not even have a vote. Dressed in a T-shirt, specially designed for them by the Election Commission, the youngsters stood guard at the entrance of every polling booth to usher in the voters.
For the first time, the Election Commission deployed NSS volunteers from different educational institutions in the “World’s Largest Democratic Exercise”. G. Siva and K. Ajay, students of Zakir Hussain College, Ibrahimpatnam, did not have a vote but they volunteered to help in smooth conduct of the elections.
“Our college coordinator explained to us our duties and we were asked to assemble at the Vivekananda Centenary School in Singhnagar in the morning,” said Siva.
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The white T-shirts had the tri-coloured symbol of the Election Commission with the words “World’s Largest Democratic Exercise” on them. “I normally do not wear T-shirts. I only wear traditional dresses. But I like this T-Shirt very much,” said Y. Sukanya, a volunteer at a polling booth in Surya Public School in Ayodhyanagar. “I may never wear this T-shirt again, but I will keep it as a memento and show it to my children to tell them that I was part of this huge exercise,” she said.
As many as 1,340 volunteers turned into guides for voters, standing for nearly 11 hours at a stretch from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at different polling booths in the city besides 2,200 NSS volunteers who ushered voters into polling booths in the rest of Krishna district. The Election Commission also granted Rs. 350 per volunteer to take care of their food and other expenses.
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