Finger or toe, EVMs shall never discriminate

Pranav’s message for people facing physical challenges in life: Never compromise on the vote

March 14, 2019 07:51 am | Updated 07:51 am IST - PALAKKAD

Exercising his right: Pranav M.B. displaying how to vote with his foot at a familiarisation session at the Collectorate in Palakkad on Wednesday.

Exercising his right: Pranav M.B. displaying how to vote with his foot at a familiarisation session at the Collectorate in Palakkad on Wednesday.

Differently abled Pranav M.B. will cast his maiden vote with the second toe of his right foot on April 23. And he is excited about it.

The excitement was palpable when he showed how to cast vote on an electronic voting machine in the presence of a bevy of VIPs at the Collectorate here on Wednesday. An undergraduate commerce student from Government College, Chittur, Pranav has a great message for people facing different kinds of physical challenges in life. “A vote is a fundamental right. It should not be wasted at any cost,” he beamed, rubbing shoulders with District Collector D. Balamurali and actor Govind Padmasoorya.

Pranav, who had contributed the money he raised through foot painting to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund during the worst floods that the State saw last year, has been chosen the youth icon representing the differently abled for the Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme of the district.

Mr. Padmasoorya is the district youth icon in the general category. He too was upbeat participating in the SVEEP programme. The District Collector opened a centre at the District Information Office at the Civil Station where the public can try a hand at using an electronic voting machine (EVM) and a VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail).

District electoral officials said anyone could try and learn more about using an EVM and VVPAT during office hours in the next several days. Additional District Magistrate N.M. Meharali; Deputy Collector (election) M.B. Girish; Revenue Divisional Officer R. Renu; and District Information Officer Priya K. Unnikrishnan attended the function.

Election officials explained the working of each unit of the voting machine and their uniqueness.

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