Bhubaneswar: To strike a chord with the common man, senior BJD member V K Pandian went to his polling booth in Unit-VI in an autorickshaw to cast his vote on Saturday. “The autorickshaw association requested me to travel to the polling station in their vehicle when I met them a few days ago,” Pandian said. He also stood in a queue to cast his vote.
The move got a lot of attention both from the people and media.“It reminded me of my younger days. When I was a student I used to travel in auto-rickshaws and motorcycles. I am happy that I came in an autorickshaw,” he added.
After casting his vote, Pandian also urged people to come out in large numbers and participate in the festival of democracy and exercise their vote. “You have to be part of the vibrant democracy. India is known for its vibrant democracy. Let’s all come together and increase the voting percentage.”
Members of All Odisha Auto Taxi Drivers Association met Pandian a few months ago and submitted a memorandum to fulfil their demands. “We had requested Pandian sir to fulfil our demands like parking issues and transport welfare scheme. During that time, we requested him to travel in an auto-rickshaw to cast his vote,” said general secretary of the association Padman Samal.
Pravat Kumar Sethi, an autorickshaw driver of Unit-II area drove Pandian to the polling booth in his three-wheeler. Sethi, 42, has been eking out a living by driving an auto-rickshaw in the capital city for around 20 years now.

We also published the following articles recently

BJD neglected tribal devpt: Nadda; look around, see progress: VK Pandian
BJP president J P Nadda criticized the BJD government for neglecting tribal welfare and development in Odisha, accusing them of using tribals as vote banks. He highlighted Modi govt’s initiatives benefiting the state’s rural areas.

CM Naveen Patnaik, VK Pandian attack Aparajita Sarangi over projects in Bhubaneswar
CM Naveen Patnaik and VK Pandian criticize Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi for stalling development projects in Bhubaneswar LS seat.

Lok Sabha polls: Voters queue up at polling booths in Delhi; Jaishankar, Puri, Atishi cast votes
Polling began for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi with notable figures like Union ministers, Delhi Minister Atishi, and President Droupadi Murmu casting their votes amidst high temperatures and voter enthusiasm.