The Hindu (Tiruchirapalli)

Couple create awareness on voting via video

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The Presiding O icer of a polling booth in Chennai South constituen­cy was taken aback when an elderly man vociferous­ly complained that the VVPAT unit displayed the name of another person instead of his (the voter’s) name. Apparently, he was expecting his name to appear on the VVPAT.

A couple from Tiruporur in the suburbs of Chennai have drawn the attention of youth by raising awareness on voting through videos. K.A.S. Thara Sudhakar, president of Padur panchayat, and her husband K.A.S. Sudhakar have been running

‘Maatrathai Nokki’ trust for nearly 15 years. This election, they have created a video for college students and youth, stressing the importance of voting. Mr. Sudhakar said that his trust had done similar awareness videos during previous elections.

Though they are in the DMK, they neither used the party’s flag nor its symbol in the video. The trust was currently working on conservati­on of birds by placing water pots to help them beat the summer heat, Mr. Sudhakar added.

The couple have created a video, stressing the importance of voting.

Friday was a special day for K. Nalini, as the 38-year-old homemaker from the Kottapattu camp for Sri Lankan refugees in Tiruchi district became the first naturalise­d Indian national from her community to exercise her franchise. “My only hope is for my family and children to be able to progress and live without fear in India, as Indians,” she told The Hindu. In September

2022, she had establishe­d before the Madras High Court that she was an Indian citizen. She had enrolled as a voter of the Tiruchi (East) Assembly constituen­cy, which comes under the Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituen­cy. She applied for a voter ID through an e-service centre and received it by post. “I feel proud to have voted. I hope the voice of our people will be heard...”

K. Nalini was born in a Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilita­tion camp in April 1986.

Saturday, April 20, 2024

The Presiding O icer of a booth in Chennai had caught a man while he allegedly tried to vote twice. Sources said P. Kanagaraj had tried to vote again using his relative’s details. However, the polling agent noticed him as he had earlier voted at the same booth. No police complaint was filed.

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