Bhubaneswar: Priyadarshi Panigrahi made the long journey from Dubai, his workplace, via Kolkata and Jharsuguda to exercise his franchise at a booth in Sambalpur on Saturday.
“I reached Sambalpur around 9.15 am and voted by 11.30 am,” he said after casting his vote at the booth in Government Primary School, Bhutapara.

He justified shelling out a good amount to come to India just to vote.“It is my democratic right. If I don’t do my basic duty, I should not criticise the govt,” said Priyadarshi, who also voted in 2014 and 2009 elections. According to Priyadarshi, voting gives a sense of participation in nation building and a person feels connected to his/her roots.
While Priydarshi’s effort is laudable, many Odias living abroad cannot come back to vote as the dates do not match their schedules or due to pressing work. “In Singapore, the annual school holiday is in November and December and the mid-term vacation is in June. We can go to India only when children have their vacation, otherwise their studies will be affected,” said Subrat Nayak, an IT professional in Singapore. “Also, Indians don’t go to vote from Singapore as travel expenses are high. They might vote if they are in India for some other work around polling days,” added Nayak, who is a voter under Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency.
Similarly, filmmaker Biswambar Rath, who lives in Belgium and often visits India for his work, could not make it. “The polling coincided with visa work in Belgium. I had to attend to it because we have to stay in Belgium for a few more months,” said Rath, a voter of Jeypore assembly constituency. People from Belgium usually go to India in July and August when schools are closed.

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