105-Year-Old Woman In HP Visits Booth To Cast Vote In Assembly Elections

Himachal Pradesh saw one of its oldest residents Naro Devi cast a vote in the ongoing Assembly elections in the state. The 105-year-old set an example for all the citizens across the country to exercise their fundamental rights and contribute to the essential decision-making of people's representatives.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are composed of 68 constituencies with 417 candidates running for the seats. There are 24 women candidates in the run. The current political party in power is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had a landslide victory in the 2017 polls. There were many powerful political representatives on the voters' list today including BJP chief JP Nadda, Union minister Anurag Thakur who visited the voting booth along with his father and former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and the state's Congress chief Pratibha Singh.

105 yo woman votes in Himachal Pradesh

Naro Devi was seen going to the voting booth numbered 122 in Churah assembly constituency of Himachal Pradesh. Devi chose to go there in person to cast her vote instead of the facilities provided by the Election Commission of India for the elderly voters. According to ECI, voters aged above 80 have the option to vote through ballot papers right at their homes with the help of a representative of the commission. The Churah constituency is reserved for scheduled cast candidates and this time the deputy speaker of the Himachal Pradesh assembly is contesting for BJP from this seat.

Voting at elections is an essential part of being part of a democracy and citizens should not undermine the power they hold by exercising this right. This is not the first time India saw inspirational stories of voters, the first voter of independent India, Shyam Saran Negi made sure he voted till his last days of life. He was 106 years when he passed away and just three days back had cast his last vote. Reportedly, India has more than 2.5 lakh centenarian voters. The reports suggest that there are a total of 5,592,828 registered voters in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Among them, 121,409 of the voters are above the age of 80 and 1,136 are above 100.

Suggested Reading: 102-Year-Old Woman Finds Stillborn Daughter’s Grave After 76 Years