Viola Maria Fernandes turned up to a polling booth at Bondel, Mangaluru on Saturday morning with her family to cast her vote. The young woman was to be married at 10.30 am in Beltangady – but she ensured that she exercised her right to vote before attending the ceremony.
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— OLIVER MASCARENHAS (@oliverdxb) May 12, 2018
As voters lined up at their respective polling booths early on Saturday May 12, there was one lady who grabbed everyone's attention.She was Viola Maria Fernandes, a bride who turned up at St Lawrences English Medium School at Bondel here, all decked up pic.twitter.com/dbRhozVgUj
“I am excited about voting on my wedding day. It is one of the most memorable moments of my life,” Viola said, reported Daijiworld. She cast her vote at the Saint Lawrence school in Bondhel, Mangaluru and is marrying Sylvester Rodrigues later in the day. He too cast his vote before the wedding.
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Another story of a couple from Dharwad, Mallikarjun Gamangatti and Nikhita Jodi, was doing rounds on Twitter as the newlyweds showed up in their wedding attire to cast their votes.
In yet another similar incident, a bride from Madikeri, too, cast her vote on her wedding day. Even as the voting percentage in Karnataka is not high – as of 1pm, only 40% of voters had turned up across the state – some people went out of their to ensure that they participated in the important Assembly Elections.
#WATCH Groom Mallikarjun Gamangatti and bride Nikhita Jodi arrived at polling booth 191-A in Dharwad to cast their vote #KarnatakaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/AeTyf1mgcH
— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2018
In a similar incident, a bride from Madikeri, too, cast her vote on her wedding day. Even as the voting percentage in Karnataka is not high – as of 1pm, only 40% of voters had turned up across the state – some people went out of their to ensure that they participated in the important Assembly Elections.
It was earlier reported that a young accident victim made his way to the polls in an ambulance to do his part and cast his vote. This came a while after news broke out that a patient suffering from a kidney ailment, too, made his way to the booths.
As a token of appreciation and encouragement, a Bengaluru based advocacy group started by entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar Shaw and Manipal Global Education Chairman Mohandas Pai is distributing flowers to first time voters with the motto “Let’s be better.” Kiran’s mother, 72-year-old Yamini Mazumdar even posed for a photo on Twitter displaying her inked finger and encouraged everyone to go out and vote.
Yamini Mazumdar, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's mum, is 72 & has exercised her voting right since she was 18. "I vote because it's my right! If people don't want to vote, what's the point of elections? They might as well just appoint anyone! Everyone should vote." #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/RKHmePCfaf
— Geetika (@geetikamantri) May 12, 2018
“I vote because it’s my right! If people don’t want to vote, what’s the point of elections? They might as well just appoint anyone! Everyone should vote!” exclaimed Yamini, who has been voting since she was 18.
Sheik Kalimullah, a resident of Chikpet, was among the first lot of voters to come cast his vote at this polling station near his home. He urged younger voters to exercise their right responsibly. @thenewsminute #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/QOJFn1LjMr
— Monalisa Das (@Mona_Lisa_Das) May 12, 2018
In a first, across the state, 4552 transgender persons had enrolled to vote. In Mangaluru alone 40 members of the community had voted and in Bengaluru, renowned transgender activist Akkai Padmashali took to Facebook to express her delight at having finally voted after 16 years of adulthood, “voting is my right, and I have done it!” she wrote.