Jyothika held a press meet in Chennai recently to promote her upcoming Hindi film Srikanth, directed by Tushar Hiranandani and also starring Rajkummar Rao, Alaya F and Sharad Kelkar. The actor ran into a bit of trouble when she was asked by a reporter why she didn’t vote in the recent elections, with netizens trolling her for her reply. 

‘It’s a private thing’

A reporter asked Jyothika, given that she backs message-driven films, why doesn’t she set an example in real life too and vote. The actor immediately chipped, “I vote every year.” When she was corrected that voting doesn’t take place every year, she agreed and continued, “At times we can be outstation, we can be sick, it’s a private thing. Sometimes privately also we vote, we might do it online, not everything is publicised. There is a private side to life and we need to respect that and give that space.”

Netizens react

Netizens were confused as to how Jyothika could vote online when everyone goes down to the voting booths to cast their votes. Sharing a clip of hers from the press conference, one X user wrote, “Question was why didn't you vote and be an example to others.. what followed was a blast.” Replying to the post, another wrote, “Hi @ECISVEEP @TNelectionsCEO. How can you give special privilege to @Jyothika_offl to "vote online privately" and why we don't have that option? Please explain…”

An X user sardonically wrote, “Mam, looks like you are the brand ambassador of a new policy decision taken by the government – online voting! Could you kindly throw more light? It will help poor people like me who cannot afford to do international travels on taxpayers’ money like Udhayanidhi!” Another added, “Pls help me! How can I vote privately online like Jyothika?”

One X user pointed out that voting in local elections isn’t like voting for Bigg Boss, writing, “You’re a special breed to be educated, & remain hilariously dumb. #Jyotika - You can’t sit at home privately & press a button on a keyboard to vote. This is not Big Boss. It’s okay to abstain from voting, but what hilarious excuses!” Another wrote, “Social reformer Jyothika, even an uneducated knows election happens once in 5 yrs not every year. I have never known private & online voting in Indian elections.”