‘My vote is my right, my voice’: Haryana’s centenarians look forward to cast their ballot
Curled up under a multicoloured sheet on a folding bed, Kela Devi’s frail body goes easily unnoticed. It doesn’t help that the halfhearted light streaming in from the windows is blocked by thick, dark green curtains. Devi turned 101 on January 31 this year. Grimacing, she says, “Ab chala bhi nahi jaata. Khaat bhi paar nahi hoti (I can’t walk anymore. I can’t even cross over to another bed).”
A resident of Haryana’s Nuh, Devi says she has voted throughout her life, but doing so this year looks difficult. She’s not even sure how “safe” a voting method the postal ballot will be.
As India votes in the Lok Sabha election, which will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1, statistics from Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer show that the State has nearly 11,000 voters over the age of 100, including 40 over the age of 120. Of these, 10,570 belong in the 100109 age group, of which 60% (6,568) are women, while the remaining 4,002 are men. There are 337 voters aged between 110 and 119.
Of the 22 districts in the State, Gurugram tops the list with 1,115 centenarian voters in the 100109 age bracket, followed by Karnal and Kurukshetra, with 865 and 632 voters in the same category, respectively. As per the Election Commission of India’s (EC) latest figures, there are 2,18,442 electors over the age of 100 across the country.
Looking back
Devi, who is originally from Kosi in Uttar Pradesh, says her health has been deteriorating after her grandson’s wedding in December last year. She now survives on a liquid diet, but despite her failing health, she says her memory still serves her well. She can easily call to mind the numerous significant political and social events she has lived through over the past several decades, right from the communal riots during Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.
“During Partition, I remember making chapatis on a chullah (earthen stove) when rioters attacked my village. We had to run for our lives. A Muslim neighbour saved us. It was only a year after my wedding that Gandhi was assassinated. I had even met him when he came to Kosi once,” Devi recalls with a touch of pride. She says she is also aware of who Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are.
In the past, taking Devi to the polling station has been a task. “There are no wheelchairs or even regular chairs at the booths for the elderly to await their turn. Sometimes, the police offer their chairs, but it could be risky this time to take her to the booth,” says Jain.
Devi, though, remains completely informed about the country’s political upheavals. “There has been a lot of development, but the rate of inflation is very high,” she says.
Still walking to booth
Huri, another centenarian from Nuh’s Ward No. 11, still climbs up to the terrace of her doublestorey house every day, accompanied by her greatgrandchildren, to shoo away monkeys. She even walks around her neighbourhood without any support to catch up with friends, although most of them are much younger.
Married at 14, Huri, who is originally from Rajasthan’s Sikar, will turn 102 on May 14. She has never been to school, but has dutifully cast her vote in every election for decades.
A beneficiary of the monthly oldage pension scheme since it was introduced by late Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal in the late 1980s, Huri remains a loyal supporter of the iconic farmer leader. “The polling booth is just a few hundred metres from our house. I can even walk up to it and come back without support,” she says proudly.
Confined to home
Manni, a resident of Kabeer Mohalla in Nuh’s Ward No. 8, has watched the last 10 decades of India’s journey unfold before her eyes. As per her Aadhaar card, she is 101 years old and was born on January 1, 1923.
As she tries to adjust herself on the cot in the living room of the house, Lakshman Das, the older of her two sons, says a surgery two years ago to remove a stone in her gall bladder has taken a toll on her health. “Before that, she could walk around without support, and would ride pillion on a motorcycle to get her pension and monthly ration. Now, she remains mostly confined to the house,” says Das, a vegetable vendor.
He says he is pleasantly surprised about the EC’s new rule allowing the elderly to vote from home. “I had not heard about it, but it is a welcome decision. We were a little worried about taking her to the booth this time. She cannot sit on the motorcycle anymore,” he says.
Originally from Rajasthan’s Alwar, Manni says she has cast her vote in several elections. “Pehle mohar the, ab machine aa gayi hai (Earlier, we had to put a stamp, now there are electronic voting machines),” she says. “Earlier, I would vote after consulting with my husband, but after his death thirty years ago, I discuss with my sons before casting my vote,” she says, insisting that she presses the button on her own. “My vote is my right and my voice,” she says.
Voting from home
Senior citizens over 85, those with a disability, and people suffering from COVID19 can opt for the postal ballot facility in the general election, as per the EC.
These three categories of voters must apply to the Returning Officer via Form 12D during the period starting from the date of announcement of the election on March 16 to five days following the date of notification of the election.
“Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit those aged over 85 to give them the form, and will collect it soon after,” says Nishant
Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram.
“On polling day, a team comprising two officials, a microobserver, a videographer, and security personnel will go to the elector’s address. They will carry along with them a voting compartment and get the elector to vote via postal ballot, maintaining complete secrecy of the vote,” says Yadav, adding that the process will be completed during the week before polling in Haryana, which will take place on May 25.
A BLO, on condition of anonymity, says the actual number of voters above 100 years could be fewer than the official figures. He attributes it to two factors — the voters’ list not being routinely updated, and elderly voters falsely claiming to be of a higher age to avail themselves of agerelated benefits. “With no documents to support the claims of age made by elderly citizens, their age in the official records is inflated. This is evident from the fact that in many cases, the date of birth recorded on Aadhaar cards is January 1,” he says.