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Many of them walked with great difficulty, with the assistance of family members, and made use of assistive device. Others complained that they were not able to cast their vote as their names had gone missing from the voters’ list
Despite the scorching heat, polling stations across the State saw large numbers of enthusiastic senior citizens waiting to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha election on Friday. Many of them walked with great difficulty with the assistance of family members and even made use of assistive devices just to exercise their franchise.
At Nagore, N.K. Pakirisamy, 101, a retired teacher, who voted at the National Higher Secondary School, said he was voting because the country needed a change. Another senior citizen, A. Kadheeja, 83, said, “We want everything that is good and everyone should be happy; that is why I voted.” B. Avvakani, 86, said, “I want the town to be prosperous; that is why I voted.”
In Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore city, 86-year-old Muthammal, who was helped by her grandson to cast vote, wanted to know if she would get a pension. Her grandson said there was no pick-up facility for the elderly. “A voluntary organisation helped us last time. But, this year, they said they were not extending the service,” he said.
In the Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha constituency many voters, carrying umbrellas, visited the booths to vote. Several senior citizens said they were unaware of the postal ballot facility. Victoria, 92, of Colachel said she visited the booth assisted by her daughters aged 70 and 65 respectively. “I feel obliged to perform this democratic duty. So, I do not mind walking,” she said.
At the Kadandanvilai booth in Colachel Assembly segment, Annathangam, 82, of Elupavalai, said, “My brother, who is above 90 years, is at home. As he is not able to walk, he did not vote. I wish we knew about the facility.”
‘Don’t mind walking’
A 102-year-old woman who cast her vote at Ramalingampatti in Aathur segment said she didn’t know about the postal ballot facility but, as she was able to move around, decided to walk down to the booth to vote.
At The Nilgiris, Angamma Rangan, 85, from Thoobakandy, who walked over half a km to the polling booth in Sholur Kokkal with the assistance of her grandson, refused to take a wheelchair that was offered to her at the booth. She said that she has voted in every election she was eligible to vote. “I have walked all the way from village. I didn’t see the point of using a wheelchair for a few metres,” she said.
Mr. Ramjhi, who went along with his wife to the booth, said everything was well organised. “My white hair was an advantage and we finished voting within 10 minutes,” he said. Triplicane resident Mr. Rajagopalan, who is in his nineties, said he went to the booth early in the day to beat the heat.
Struck off the list
There were many who were frustrated after having missed the opportunity to vote. Seetha Ratnakar posted on social media that she was “very disappointed” that she couldn’t vote despite leaving home at 7 a.m. and standing in the queue for more than an hour. “Apparently, my name was struck off the list even though I have a voter ID card issued by the Election Commission. All my efforts to get it included went in vain,” she said.
Senior Citizens Forum’s (Tamil Nadu) V. Ramarao said that many elderly persons were not able to vote as their names had gone missing. “The revision of rolls was not carried out properly. If a name is removed, proper intimation must be sent to the person saying it is being removed. Without any notice, people who have voted in about 20 elections in their lifetime are shocked to find their name missing. Also, the age limit of 85 should be reduced to 80 for the provision of postal ballots,” he said.
