Thiruvananthapuram: For the first time ever in the state, the Governor has exercised his franchise. Governor P Sathasivam, who had all along been averse to remain a dormant figurehead, chucked convention and came out with his wife Sarswathy Sathasivam to cast vote. None of his 22 predecessors had cast their vote in the state though some had reportedly travelled to their home state to vote.
However, Governor P Sathasivam, in keeping with his no-nonsense maverick style of functioning, got his and his wife’s votes transferred to the state from Tamil Nadu. The Governor, decked up in a full-sleeved pastel pink shirt and dark blue trousers, arrived at booth number 68 at Jawahar Nagar Government LP school at Vattiyurkavu in Thiruvananthapuram with wife in toe.
His voting serial number was 1267. Like any ordinary voter, he stood in queue and patiently waited for his turn. Vattiyurkavu is witnessing an intense three-cornered fight between K Muraleeharan (Congress), T N Seema (CPM), and BJP (Kummanam Rajasekharan). Governors have normally kept away from voting invoking the neutral argument.
However, Sathasivam offered a compelling duty-centric counter. Coming out of the polling booth and holding up his ink-stained index finger, he said: “As the first citizen, I have a duty to perform and I voted today. I request everyone to cast their vote”.
