KOCHI: Senior citizens above 85 began exercising the option of voting from home on Monday. However, the rule that helps the elderly save a trip to the polling booth in this harsh summer turned into a bummer for some individuals, as was witnessed at the house of an elderly couple.
When the officers entrusted with collecting the details of senior citizens arrived at Thottumkalparambil at Nadukkandam near Kolani in Thodupuzha, they jotted down the name of 93-year-old T O Philip.
However, his wife, who is ill, lost the opportunity to vote from the comfort of her home as she fell way below the cut-off age.
“Though my father is 93, he has no health issues. However, that is not the case with my mother,” says Jini Joy, a retired school teacher.
“My mother is weak and has health issues, including asthma. She is mostly bedridden. Hence, it is going to be tough for her to go to the polling booth and cast her vote. If only the election officials had included people with health issues in the list, it would have been very beneficial,” she says.
However, except for the aforesaid issue, the entire process was a new and exciting experience for the family. “It was a very unique experience for us. The entire team of officials, including the presiding officer, supporting staff and police, reached our home for the process. They then set up a cubicle just like that in a polling booth on our dining table. My father was given the paper ballot after they marked his finger with the indelible ink. Once he marked the ballot paper, they gave him an envelope. He was asked to place the ballot inside and seal it. This was all done by him,” she says.
She applauded the efficiency with which the entire process was carried out by the polling officials who, according to her, went to around five other houses in their ward.