DREAMS IN THE BALLOT

As these first-time voters are all set to get inked, they put forth their unapologetic views on their expectations for the upcoming government, and the change they want to see in different aspects of society

- ARCHITA RAGHU, SONU M KOTHARI

IN the television series Derry Girls, as an ethnoreligious conflict rages across northern Ireland, Erin Quin turns 18 and needs to cast her vote for the first time on the Good Friday Agreement. This deal aimed to bring an end to 30 years of conflict dubbed 'the Troubles'. "I'm not sure I'm ready for the world.

But things can't stay the same, and they shouldn't. No matter how scary it is, we have to move on, and we have to grow up because things...well, they might just change for the better. So we have to be brave. And if our dreams get broken along the way...we have to make new ones from the pieces," she says in the season finale. Erin's words ring true across polling booths, as youngsters step up and vote for a better world.

As Chennai is a day away from the 2024 Lok Sabha Assembly election, hundreds of young voters will encounter the ballot boxes and EVM machines for the first time. On April 19, firsttime voters will voice their wishes for the upcoming government and choose their candidate after careful consideration.

Eye on infrastructure

The Preamble, the soul of the Constitution, declares India as a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, committed to justice, equality and liberty for the people." Ananya, who is voting from the Saligramam constituency, hopes that the government works towards secularism, the words lifting from the pages of our law book onto on-ground implementation.

"As a first-time voter who is going to see an electoral ballot for the first time, I would ensure I am voting for the right candidate and party. There have to be changes like better roads, and electricity. After the 2021 election, the state of electricity has worsened, we often have power cuts, especially during summer.