Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: In a written appeal to all voters in the city of Bengaluru, Archbishop Reverend Dr Peter Machado has appealed to all priests, sisters, and lay Christians to ensure they vote and do so with a conscience.
In a written appeal widely circulated on Sunday, May 7, three days before state polls on Wednesday, May 10, the Archbishop has reminded his community of their constitutional duty to vote. Over the past months, given the serious issues of many Christian, Muslim and Dalit names vanishing from electoral rolls, the archdiocese has been active in ensuring the correction of this anomaly and enrolment (or re-enrolment) of all legitimate voters.
The high-decibel campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly polls came down on Monday, setting the stage for the mega ballot battle on May 10.
The major political parties in contention are — the BJP, Congress, and JD(S), besides APP — and their candidates have made a strong pitch seeking to boost their prospects at the hustings. There are 224 seats in the House and the winning side needs to secure at least 113 seats.
As many as 58,282 polling stations will be set up in the state. The average voter per polling station is pegged at 883. A total of 1,320 polling stations will be managed by women officials.
The parties have been clamouring among the 5,24 crore voters, with over 5.60 lakh identified as persons with disability.
In an appeal just days before Election Day, the prelate urged one and all, even those sick and elderly, to vote. Besides, the appeal states that it is the duty of every citizen to vote for candidates who are constitution bound, secular, non-corrupt and non-communal. Besides, the appeal says that freebies and incentives must not guide the choice, but the worth and merit of the candidate alone. The Christian community must reach out to neighbours of all religious denominations to exercise their franchise, and those out of the city must be encouraged to return to cast their vote.
The Archbishop’s letter may be read here:
