In a democratic Country like India, the Lok Sabha Elections every 5-years holds an important value to the mass, as the elections depends on the upcoming future of the entire nation. Independent India first casted their votes in the first ever 1951-52 general elections, as the Indian Nation Congress came into power for the first time after the conclusion of British era in India. India has been progressive to let woman politically participate in the matters of the nation as early in the 1900’s but natives were not allowed to vote in British Indian prior to its independence. Madras was the first to grant women’s suffrage in 1921, but only to those citizens who owned a land property according to British administration reports. On the first general elections both the genders participated to decide the future of independent India.
India went for it’s 17th Lok Sabha Elections on 11th of April 2019 in 7 phases. The last phase of the 2019 elections commenced on 13th May and concluded on 19th May, with 59 constituencies casting their precious votes and results to be declared on 23rd May, 2019. Among these constituencies some were, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Bengal saw a number of voters lining up in queues to cast in the 17th Lok Sabha Polls.
A Kolkata hospital, named Calcutta Pavlov Hospital created history with their inmates casting mostly their first votes. Pavlov Hospital in Kolkata is a home to girls diagnosed with mental disorder; some in recovery, some still seeking help and some of the one’s who eventually recovered but sadly their families refused to take them back to their own home as they all made a home in the shelter provided by the hospital authorities. On Poll day however, some 54 of the inmates were send out to cast their votes which invoked excitement among all them. With new voter ID cards in hand the inmates queued up in the Bamonpara Bazar under North Kolkata Constituency on a perfect Sunday. According to reports, almost every inmate that casted their vote on Sunday, felt a sense of pride & excitement in voting. Calcutta Pavlov Hospital will be remembered in history along with Anjali, an organisation that works for patients with mental illness, for their phenomenal initiative and also taking a step towards equality for all, in political scenario as well.
