Narikuravas of Devarayaneri exercise their voting right

Narikurava community members at Devarayaneri along the Thanjavur Highway on the outskirts of the city exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections, despite their demands not being met

Narikurava community members at Devarayaneri along the Thanjavur Highway on the outskirts of the city exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections, despite their demands not being met.

There are more than 1,000 Narikuravars living in Devarayaneri Colony in Tiruchi. Of them, 840 are voters. Members of the community claimed that there were 40 first-time voters among them.

On Friday morning, many registered voters of the colony, who make a living by selling hand-made trinkets, turned up with their children to cast their votes. After waiting in the queue in front of the polling booth, they cast their votes.

For 18-year-old V. Vinothini from the Narikuravar community, getting inked and casting a vote for the first time was an exciting experience. She hopes that the elected leader who comes to power will work towards her community’s benefit, especially to eradicate the sale of liquor in the area.

“I am not much aware of politics but, I hope the candidate I voted for wins and does good for the constituency,” said Ms. Vinothini.

According to a member of the community, they have never failed to vote. “Despite being deprived of better facilities, such as frequent bus services to our locality, we come as a group to cast our votes,” said K. Deepa, 38, a person with a disability, from the community.

“We usually research about the candidate and their promises for our community. This time we were actively following the political parties in social media, which helped us to choose the candidate,” said Barath, 20, another first-time voter.