She flies down to Chandigarh from Singapore only to cast her vote

Narrating her experience, she said, “Police at the gate protested because we were outside the polling station till 7 am, but we managed to convince them to allow us to sit on chairs outside the school campus. We could see the preparations. Policemen on duty were looking a bit tense when visited by their chief on a round. Everything was spick and span. All was planned to the minutest detail. The polling area executive of our region welcomed us. The polling started precisely at 7 am in three rooms to minimise the waiting time. Every room had six executives facilitating the voters and closely monitoring the process to ensure smooth voting.”

Dr Kokil has been living outside India for the past eight years. Before Singapore, she was in the US.

Asked about her casting a vote for the first time despite being in her 30s, she said, “Yes, I wish I could have exercised this earlier, but today I feel it is necessary to cast a vote. You should exercise your right to choose who governs you.”

She said about Singapore, “Their government believes in a meritocracy where extremely qualified people make it to the government and they also prioritise research, as they spend a good amount of funds in research.”

Of the total electorates in Chandigarh, 43 are NRI — 24 male and 19 female.

‘They are kind and assisted me with a torch’

Former Director of Education, Haryana, SS Kaushal, 88, appreciated how the polling staff assisted him with a torch due to his low vision.

Kaushal, a resident of Sector 43B, arrived at the polling station at Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 43A, in a wheelchair.

“Polling staff were kind and helpful. They assisted me with a torch because my vision if low. It was a very well-managed polling booth with scores of NSS student volunteers,” he added.

Puri — the first to cast vote at Sector 49 booth

“I am privileged to be the first voter to vote at the polling booth number 563 at Ryan International School. I got free within five minutes as everything was so systematic,” BB Puri, 69, retired Regional Director, ESI Corp and a Sector 49 Labour Bureau Society resident, said.