Why Are Polling Booths In Goa And Punjab Going Pink?

With elections coming up in five Indian states simultaneously, expect a bit of colour doing the rounds.

According to a report in the Herald in Goa, the state has taken gender-bias rather seriously. The report mentions that there will be 40 polling booths staffed by women in the state which will have a ‘pink’ theme. The polling officers are reportedly going to turn out in pink and the voters are being encouraged to wear pink. That is not all. First-time voters will be handed out pink teddy bears by the Chief Electoral Office. Theodore Roosevelt would have been proud.

The CEO, IAS Kunal, told the newspaper that the move was designed to empower the women community.

“We have plans to decorate the entire station in pink with added attraction of pink balloons and pink flowers. The polling officers on duty will be made to wear pink. We are also making efforts to appeal to the voters to wear pink while visiting the station to cast their vote,” the CEO is quoted by the newspaper as saying.

And Goa is not the only state that is going Pink. According to another report from Rupnagar in Punjab, the state will have polling stations with the pink theme and female electoral officers in tow. And again, that is not all. All the 600-odd polling booths will be equipped with ‘selfie points’ where voters can take selfies. Very neat.