‘I Will Never Forget My Voting Amid Covid-19’

Milee Banerjee recounts her voting experience in Munger, where the first phase of Bihar election took place on October 28 amid heavy security to ensure social distancing at poll booths

I will always remember this election. As an aware citizen, I always knew how important voting is, but the pandemic has taught us how important it is to choose our leaders wisely. So I went out and cast my precious vote today morning at my hometown in Munger. The situation has been a little tense here because of the police firing incident on the previous day which left one person dead and around 25 injured during Goddess Durga idol immersion.

My father and I went out early morning to vote. Heavy security had been deployed at the local school which was turned into a poll booth. I must admit I was mighty impressed with the arrangements there, especially in wake of coronavirus. Given the fact that I left my hometown a few years ago to work in Kolkata, it was but natural that my mind tried to compare Munger with the capital city.

About 70 people were in the booth at the same time and social distancing measures were followed to the tee. Temperature was checked right at the beginning, and hand sanitizers were provided to everyone. Strict checking was being done to ensure that people wore their masks and the premises had been kept very clean. There was also a lady who had been especially designated to answer people’s queries, if any. She was proactive and kept asking people if they had any confusion.

I had come from Kolkata to Munger at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, and for the 8 months that I have spent here, I noticed the authorities were working relentlessly in managing the pandemic. Many migrant labourers came back from big cities to Munger during the lockdown and they have been very well taken care of.

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Choosing who to vote for, in my opinion, isn’t decided in one day or even one month. One must reflect before voting keeping in mind the local leaders, because in any moment of crisis they would be the first responders.

This particular Bihar Vidhan Sabha election has been special for me for I saw how people and authorities communicated freely and worked in tandem with each other during the raging Covid-19 pandemic. I found Munger people are a closely knit society. Whenever someone contracted the virus, people provided emotional and logistical support and no one felt stigmatized. That for me is the biggest plus of small towns. Such cooperation can help any society weather the worst of crises.

I understand that authorities in Kolkata will falter in many places because of the sheer size of its population when it comes to pandemic management, but the big city residents could learn from small towners as how to provide emotional support to each other. During the initial lockdown, my mom gave away many bottles of pickles so that the vulnerable may eat rotis with them, as vegetables or lentils were hard to come by.

I have so far been working from home and plan to go back to Kolkata after Diwali. But a valuable lesson I picked up from my stay in my small hometown during pandemic is that a voter one must choose the leaders who hold empathy and kindness for fellow human beings.