I have VOTED... What about YOU?

I have VOTED....

In my own words, I'm not a 'PAPPU' anymore....

Yeah ! I was raring for this moment ever since the elections were declared. And today, I have cast my very first VOTE. I'm feeling the power of being a part of the world's largest democratic setup.

There may be some flaws in it, yet being a part of it is an achievement in its own respect. There are drawbacks in almost everything. Nothing is flawless. Except ME ! Now that wasn'e a JOKE. So there's no point in smiling. Okay?

As I mentioned earlier, I was waiting for this moment for a long time, but it got over in a nanosecond. Just a long BEEEEEEEEEP and I had done with it.

The polling started at 8 am sharp. But I went to exercise my right at around 10 am. There was a small queue of some 10 or more people before me. I waited for my turn to come. I was ready with the weapon (read :: my Voter ID), which I got just 20 days ago.

Within minutes, all the people standing before me had voted and gone out and the number of people behind me started increasing. It was my turn next. There were four polling officers plus one supervisory authority in the polling booth.

The first polling officer took my ID and matched it with the voter list. Stage I cleared. My name was present in the list.

The second guy checked the ID again to verify if I was the same guy in the photo identity card, which obviously I was. That cleared the Stage II.

The third guy was ready to attack me, not me, my finger instead. He started applying the 'permanent ink' right above the nail of the first finger of the left hand. He continued, covered the whole distance through the nail and stopped at a distance after the nail. Eh ! it sort of stinked. And turning blue to red(within a few minutes). Stage III cleared.

The fourth one guided me to the EVM (for those who don't know :: Electronic Voting Machine). There were 13 candidates contesting the election. The green light glowed which meant the EVM was ready. I checked out the names of all 13 candidates and pressed the blue button in front of the candidate for which I wanted to vote. The red light against the name blinked. There was a long BEEEEEEEEP. I had done with voting.

The supervisory officer asked me, "Voting for the first time?"

I said "Yes... Yes sir !"

He said "It feels great that youth like you are interested in the democratic setup."

"Thanks !" was my reply.

I started moving my feet towards the door marked 'OUT', having a look at my finger on which the ink was applied. The ink had turned black.

It was a proud feeling that I had paid my contribution in deciding the fate of my area. Now the person, whoever gets elected, was accountable to me. Yes.

I conclude on this note, with a hope that nobody ever remains a 'Pappu'.

Get up. Vote ! JAAGO RE !!!