Groom arrives at polling station with 'band, baaja and baraat' to cast his vote in Delhi

Quirky as it may sound, but a groom on Sunday went to cast his vote in Delhi along with 'band, baaja and baraat', riding a horse to boot.

The sight in East Delhi grabbed eyeballs as not only the groom, Rishabh Jain, but also his parents and sister exercised their franchise before moving on to Palwal in Haryana for the wedding, a family friend said.

"Rishabh is getting married today to a woman in neighbouring Palwal, but he decided to cast his vote before exchanging the wedding vows with the bride. And we all came to the polling station for his big day and what a memorable day it became," the groom's cousin Gaurav Jain told PTI.

He said the 'dulha', who has a jewellery business in Delhi, reached the polling booth in Shahdara, with all the fanfare and the family too enjoyed the moment.

"The bride is waiting in Paliwal and we are on our way right now to the wedding venue," Gaurav Jain said.

The groom said he was delighted to participate in this festival of democracy ahead of getting married.

"Yes, I came to cast my vote first before going to my marriage. I am an Indian, I felt I must do my duty also," he said.

Gaurav Jain said the distance from the house to the booth is very close and we took out the procession as one would do in a wedding.

"Not just the groom, his father, mother and sister also voted there and everyone was very happy," he said.

In the North East Delhi constituency too a groom arrived in his 'dulha' avatar much to everyone's amusement.

"Yes, a groom came to a polling booth in Jahangirpur area. He was dressed as if he had just stepped out of a mandap. He was wearing a suit and a 'pagdi' and sporting a garland of notes in a typical 'dulha' style," a senior official said.

Voting was held for all the seven constituencies in Delhi on Sunday between 7 am to 6 pm, young and old, first-timers and centenarians queued up to exercise their franchise throughout the day.