Pics: Anush Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, May 12: As voters lined up at their respective polling booths early on Saturday May 12, there was one lady who grabbed everyone's attention.

She was Viola Maria Fernandes, a bride who turned up at St Lawrences English Medium School at Bondel here, all decked up for her big day.

Accompanied by her family, Viola dressed in her wedding gown came to the polling booth to cast her vote.

Viola is marrying Sylvester Rodgrigues in Beltangady at 10.30 am. Before leaving for Beltangady for the wedding, Viola and her family members came to the polling booth to exercise their franchise.

Speaking to daijiworld, Viola said that casting her vote made her wedding day all the more special. "My family members and I are supposed to reach Beltangady by 10.30 am. While fixing the wedding date there was a lot of discussion about how to vote on the same day. We finalized the date anyway with a resolution that we would cast our votes in the morning before leaving for Beltangady. We informed by fiance and his family as well.

"I am all excited about voting on my wedding day. It is one of the most memorable moments of my life. I have selected noble persons for my life (fiance) as well as for my constituency (candidate)," she said.

Appreciating Viola and her family for not skipping their votes despite the wedding, Rachana president Stany Alvares said, "Viola is the highlight of this polling day. Today every minute is precious for her and her family, and to top that, they have to travel to Beltangady reach by 10.30 am. Still, they did not shirk from their responsibility as citizens. I feel Viola and her family are the real ambassadors of Karnataka elections.

"Eveyone is busy with their own life. But when we show concern to our nation and state, and our rights, we take this (polling) with the seriousness it deserves, like in Viola's case," he said.