BMC polls: Groom casts vote before tying knot, guests follow suit

Mumbai: So determined was Mahesh Navale, 24, a Parel resident employed as an executive with a private firm, to exercise his right to vote that not even his wedding came in the way.

 Mr Navale headed for his wedding to be held in Ghatkopar only after he first cast his ballot at about 8.30am at a polling booth in Navbharat School near Bhoiwada court. He was accompanied by his neighbours at Deep Residency Society where they all stay, and the wedding band all but waited outside the school compound for the groom and his guests to finish the task at hand before heading to the wedding venue. Mr Navale said that his wife, who hails from a village near Nagar, insisted that as she could not cast her vote, at least he should fulfill his duty as a citizen before tying the knot.

 Mr Navale said that the marriage had been fixed even before announcement of polling dates and hence, there was a huge debate in the family whether to go for voting or not.

 “The family, relatives, friends and neighbours had a meeting on how to tackle the issue as the mahurat for marriage was 12.55 pm. While some were of the view that voting should be done after the marriage, others felt that the option would result in no one voting at all. As a result, it was decided to first vote and then head for the marriage,” said Mr Navale.

A neighbour and close friend of the Navale family, Jay, was instrumental in getting the entire programme charted out and in the morning on Tuesday, everyone gathered in the building before heading to the polling station. “More than 100 people were present in the wedding procession that included a music band. We reached the venue and all eligible persons voted, after which we left for Ghatkopar,” said Mr Jay.

Mr Navale was happy that his wife insisted he vote and hoped that others too would vote in large numbers to ensure that the right candidate was elected.