BENGALURU:  While BJP leaders have expressed reservation about the election date (Phase 2), which is sandwiched between two government holidays, and according to them, it may impact the voting percentage in Bengaluru, citizens say the extended weekend won’t deter them from voting. They said instead this will give them a good chance to cast their votes.

The New Indian Express spoke to a few people from various professions in Bengaluru, and most of them claimed that the holidays declared on April 17 (Mahaveer Jayanthi) and April 19 (Good Friday) will not be an issue when exercising their franchise on April 18.

Ganesh Gani, a student of a private college, said, “Yes, I am definitely going to vote because voting comes once in five years and I’m not going to miss that opportunity because of some long weekend.”Meanwhile, a number of them are looking at this extended holiday as an opportunity to go to their hometown and vote. “I am very happy with these holidays as it will give me an opportunity to go back to my native (Doddaballapur) and vote,” Manjunath Munishamaiah, professor, Reva University, said.

Charan Dev, a photographer, said, “I am happy about the holidays as I can go back to Chikkamagaluru and spend some time with my parents. And of course I’ll be able to vote too.” However, some of them are also planning to stay away from voting and relax during the holidays. “My voting name is registered in Bidar and I am not sure if can go back there to vote as I am planning to go to Hyderabad to meet my friends,” Pooja Mahaling, a software engineer, said. Data analyst Srinivas R Ranga eels that he doesn’t want to vote this time. He said, “I want to take a break and travel during this time.” (With inputs from Kinjal Manoj Patel)