Ballot drive ends with a bang

CHANDIGARH: The ToI's Rise-Up campaign, which was launched a fortnight ago, concluded with a grand finale in the Sector 17 plaza on election eve on Wednesday, with hundreds of city residents vowing to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha elections. The city voters the Rise-Up volunteers spoke to, pledged to use their right at any cost, and also assured to drag the unwilling ones to the polling booths on Thursday.
Most of the people in Sector 17 knew about the Rise-Up campaign, during which around 500 voters gave in writing by signing their names that they would reach the polling booths to cast votes. In all, over 6,000 city residents pledged to cast their votes during the 15-day campaign, which was kicked off on March 26 to spread awareness regarding the right to vote, and to make citizens aware about the value of casting their vote. It was held at almost all the best city hangouts -- Panjab University, Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, and the markets of Sector 17 and 35. The people were motivated by seeing the pledges made by the general public on the previous campaigns.
The comments made on the last day were worthwhile. The best were: 'Don't vote a thief' 'Don't vote for the criminals', 'Vote for the one who stand by what he says'. Suresh Khanna, a 56-year-old Mohali resident, said: "I have voted three times in my life. And I will obviously cast my vote tomorrow, as I believe in democracy, and we should play an equal part in playing our crucial roles as voters." Jaspreet Shergill, a 22- year-old resident of Sector 20, has already voted twice. "I am of the opinion that if we are provided with such a right, we should obviously use it for our benefit."