Mahlao Ram Thakur, a 24-year-old teacher at a private school in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district, expressed immense joy after casting his first vote on Saturday. Despite being eligible to vote in previous elections, Mahlao Ram Thakur had not been able to do so due to various reasons.
Accompanied by his younger brother Ravi Kumar Thakur, 18, and their parents, Mahlao Ram Thakur traveled to the remote Aelhmi polling booth in the Mandi parliamentary constituency, trekking almost 7 km through mountainous terrain from their village, Gird.
Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone from Aelhmi, Mahlao Ram Thakur said, “I received my voter card when I turned 18 in 2018. Since then, I couldn’t cast my vote due to personal reasons such as education and agricultural work. A few times, I was not in my village during elections. Political Science is my favorite subject, and I have a Master’s degree in Political Science from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. I believe it is fate that I am home this time when the election is taking place.”
“I consider my younger brother very fortunate to have cast his vote soon after getting his voter ID card. My parents, Udmi Ram and Savitri Devi, are regular voters. There is hardly any instance when they have missed an election. Today, I feel proud to have cast my vote alongside them,” added Mahlao, who teaches Political Science and History.
Booth Level Officer (BLO) Rakesh Kumar at the Aelhmi polling booth mentioned, “There are 185 voters at Aelhmi booth. There was a 46 percent turnout until 1:30 p.m. This polling booth is among the remotest. Yesterday, our six-member polling party reached here after trekking almost 15 km.”
An election officer stated, “There are many electors like Mahlao Ram Thakur who didn’t vote earlier. Now awareness is being spread; hence people will come forward to use their voting rights.”
In Himachal Pradesh, there are 1,71,675 first-time voters out of a total of 57,11,969 voters. One of the first-time voters, Mamta, 18, cast her vote at the Tattapani polling booth in Shimla, describing it as a dream come true. Another first-time voter, Mohini, also cast her vote at the Tattapani polling booth.
