Later frequent relocation and sheer apathy to register myself as a voter in those cities kept me away from polling booths. However this time the numerous campaign to register as voters goaded me to get 'inked' for election. After many trips to the election office I managed to get a voter id card.
While on my way to the polling station I happened to come across some party helpdesks with lots of eager faces to assist me locate my serial number and booth number. Some of the desks even had laptops, quite a far cry from the 90s when they were not even heard of. But nowadays they seemed very discreet in displaying their party affiliations, thanks to more proactive election commission.
After finding my name and getting a slip mentioning the serial number and booth number, the guy said, "Sir please vote for BJP and Modi." Till then I had no idea as to which party's helpdesk it was. Moreover he didn't even bother to mention who the local BJP party candidate was. All got swept under NaMo frenzy!
For me this election was my first tryst with EVM, so it gave me a similar kind of thrill I had while using an ATM for the first time more than a decade ago. While approaching the polling station I saw a queue of about 25 persons but on reaching there it became apparent that it was not meant for me and the booth I was supposed to vote had no queue. The polling officials seemed relieved on seeing me.
Upon producing my voter's ID and signing a list the indelible ink was put on my left thumb. The polling official was too generous regarding ink and it soon cascaded all the way to the tip of my thumb. In short, it was no way photogenic enough to be flaunted as 'ink finger selfie' on Facebook. In fact I thought if I post the picture, I may invite 'get well soon' messages, as it looked more like a blood clot on a finger that got caught on the wrong end of a door!
Then I was asked to move to the enclosure where the EVM was placed. The list seemed quite long enough, had no idea there were so many candidates in fray, only two or three names seemed familiar. After spotting the candidate name I wanted to vote for I pressed the button next to it. It gave off a beep and later the polling official told me it was over.
Relieved of having done an onerous duty without delays and goof ups I went home and eagerly tracked the turnout in my city Bangalore with that of others. Sad to say that though it was an improvement from its 2009 tally, it may have disappointed the numerous NGOs and other organisations who worked tirelessly to boost voter turnout.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
