First-time voters excited to vote, looking for change

Madurai: Excitement was in the air as many first-time voters participated in large numbers to vote in the assembly election on Thursday. Despite the crowd present at the polling centre, they determinedly navigated through the election process to cast their votes for their desired candidate."We have seen the problems the city and the state faced over many years, and we are hopeful that our votes will be instrumental in affecting a change for the better and improve all our lives," said P Aashika, a resident of Sammatipuram and first-time voter. Talking about how she made the decision of which candidate to vote for, she said, "In the past few weeks there have been many advertisements on social media regarding party promises, candidate information and more. We see advertisements from every party, as well as look at the issues around us and what they are saying regarding solutions. Based on this, we make educated votes." She added that while she was advised by her parents on which party to vote for, she already resolved to vote based on her own decision.M Samkumar, a 22-year-old from Tallakulam, mirrored that, saying, "I cast my vote without anyone's influence; even my parents insisted I vote for a particular party, but I voted for the candidate who intends to bring about change." W Arshu Safora from Iyer Bungalow also added that she was "feeling good and excited to vote for the first time. I selected a candidate who promised to improve better infrastructure for my constituency."In Madurai South constituency at Sourashtra Hr Sec School, many transgender voters also participated in the election for the first time. One of the voters, Maya, said, "Voting is an important democratic right for all of us, and it is important that we exercise it." She added that the transgender community demanded to be treated equally and given support and access to basic infrastructure needs by the party that comes into power next.The selfie stations placed at the polling centres also found a lot of use by the youth and first-time voters, who displayed their inked finger with pride and took pictures.