A young woman flew down from Boston to vote in Calcutta on June 1 "for a pluralistic society".

Ananya Chhaochharia, 28, who has never missed her vote since she became eligible, said she could not afford to miss the chance this time despite being about 7,000 miles away from home.

"I booked my tickets for Calcutta after the election dates were announced because I wanted to perform my responsibility as a citizen and vote for a pluralistic society. I would not have missed this right," she said.

The woman with a master's in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, graduated on May 23. She flew down on May 28.

She said she believed that diverse voices must exist in a democracy and that a "divide and rule" policy cannot work in a country like India.

"Divide and rule was rejected by Indians in 1947 and it has been rejected even now because secularism is not a jargon for us but something that we have practised over the years," said the 28-year-old.

The Park Street resident is a voter of the Kolkata South constituency.

"I grew up in an area where people from different religions live but that has never bothered me. Rather we have embodied this whole culture of diversity where we celebrate Holi together or eat biryani on Eid," she said.

Ananya said the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was "strategically timed" to influence votes.

"I am not against building a temple or against any religion but the timing of the inauguration of the Ram temple was strategically placed so that they could influence votes. They tried to use people's faith to drive elections. But the results of this election showed that you cannot substitute the welfare of people by building temples," she said.

The BJP lost from the Faizabad constituency, of which Ayodhya is a part.

"A government has to address the needs of the people... and they are education, access to healthcare and more employment opportunities. These have to percolate down to the ground," she said.

Ananya said people also wanted "freedom to express their opinions" and there has to be a space for that.

"If dissenting voices are gagged it shows there is a certain fear in the minds of the authority, which is why they are not allowing people to freely express themselves," she said.

An alumna of Modern High School for Girls and Loreto College, Ananya worked in electoral politics from 2017 to 2022. She is set to join her workplace in Washington DC in August.

Ananya launched an initiative called Paint It Red in September 2019 to create awareness about menstrual hygiene and to eliminate stereotypes around periods. She still runs the initiative in India.

"This election results show how people are done with divisive politics and are ready to call for a change," she said.