Newlyweds queue up to cast votes in Udhampur

PTI

Udhampur/Jammu, April 19

Several newlywed couples turned up at polling stations in wedding attire to cast their votes in the Udhampur constituency which went to the polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

Accompanied by his friends dressed in traditional attires, a groom in sherwani and colourful headgear was among the first to cast his vote at a polling booth in Udhampur.

From wedding venue to polling booth

I have come directly from the wedding ceremony after completing the ‘pheras’ as I did not want to waste my vote. —Aseem Mangotra

Kapil Gupta got married on Thursday and exercised his franchise in Udhampur town soon after returning home on Friday morning. “Voting is our right and must be done on priority,” he said, requesting people to vote in large numbers. Sahil and Radhika, a newly-married couple, also turned up at a polling station in wedding costumes.

“We got married only yesterday (Thursday) and I told my husband that we should vote. My vote is not registered here, but I accompanied him,” the bride said, adding that she would visit her parents later in the day and exercise her franchise at her parental village.

A polling booth set up at the government middle school in Parli Wand of Kathua district was witness to similar scenes. Aseem Mangotra and his wife Vaishali come to vote after their wedding rituals.

“I have come directly from the wedding ceremony after completing the ‘pheras’ as I did not want to waste my vote. Registering your choice to elect your representatives only comes once in five years,” Mangotra said. Echoing her husband’s sentiments, Vishali said voting is a power in the hands of the common people and should not be wasted.

In Bhaderwah town, the farewell ceremony of a bride was delayed so that she could cast her vote. Former MLA of Ramban and BJP leader Neelam Langhe, who got married two days ago, went to the Kundi polling station with his wife in wedding attire to cast his vote.

Returning Officer Rakesh Minhas thanked the newlywed couples and aged persons for turning up at their polling stations.

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