Jobs, housing, education & healthcare top first-time voters’ priority list in city

Mumbai: Tens of thousands of young voters, exercising their voting right for the first time, enthusiastically queued up at polling booths in the city on Monday. Some of the initial excitement turned into exasperation with longer queues and heat. They were not discouraged though. A majority of the young voters TOI spoke to said they have voted for better employment opportunities. Voters in the 18-19 age group make up for 1.1% of the city’s electoral roll.Colaba’s Rohan Pansare (24) said he could not vote during the 2019 elections as his name was not included in time. “For me, affordable housing and jobs are a top priority. There should be free healthcare for poor and middle-class people,” said Pansare who came to vote with his friends. Ravina Tare (20), also from Colaba, cast her vote for affordable education and more job opportunities. “There should be more development too,” said Tare, adding it was a good feeling to vote for the first time.

Vedika Chandak, a graduate, said people have come out in large numbers “to vote for the candidate they feel should represent them in Parliament”. A BBA student, Jatin Devani from Dahisar (East), said he got his voter card made just last week. He said his voting debut began with optimism to participate in the democratic process. He and his friend Rohan Katelkar waited in queue for over two hours to vote.Chinmay Joshi (20) from St Francis College said work done on Atal Sethu bridge and Coastal Road was impressive. At Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli, Prutha Parab who had just appeared for NEET said she was excited to play her part in the electoral process. Disha Parmar (21) from Thane said, “I’ve been waiting for this moment, and it feels empowering to have my voice heard.” Manaal Ansari (21), also from Thane, emphasised the significance of youth participation in elections. “Our generation needs to be involved in shaping the future,” she said.At Bandra (East) govt colony, Nisha Jadhav, a law student aged 20, was a first-time voter. “This is the largest festival of democracy and public participation is of utmost importance. My father ensured my name was on the voting roll as soon as I turned 18 and hence I was able to vote without any inconvenience on Monday,” said Jadhav. Parthiv Chhabria at Bandra’s St Anne’s school, though, said, “It’s sad that even though all of us are eligible to vote, you don’t really see many young voters.” Meanwhile, Aftab Shaikh needed to return home from the booth as the election officials did not allow him to take his mobile phone to show his I-card on DigiLocker. He left to collect the physical I-card from home and headed back to vote.