Assembly polls: 106-year-old Gorakhpur resident ready to cast vote for 36th time

The assembly elections this year will see a 106-year-old voter exercising his franchise for the 36th time, Hindustan Times' sister publication Livehindustan reported on Monday. Kanhaiya Lal Gupta, the general secretary of North East Railway Mazdoor Union (NERMU), has been casting vote since 1952.

Full Coverage: Assembly Elections 2022

Based in Gorakhpur, Gupta is one of the oldest registered voters and has even contested NERMU for 60 times.

Gupta told Livehindustan that he became a voter in 1951. He recalled that when he first cast his vote in the country’s first election in 1952, he felt proud. “I did not allow the ink on my finger to fade for many days,” he said.

He joined railway service in 1946 and got associated with NERMU. He fights the general secretary election every year and wins by a voice vote.

Gupta contracted the coronavirus disease a few days ago, and was referred to the hospital by the doctors in view of his age. He is healthy now.

During his stay in the hospital, Gupta was constantly taking updates about elections - both upcoming assembly polls and railway election, Livehindustan reported.

The doctors were amazed to see Gupta walking without the help of any aid even at the age of 106. He also has sharp memory and can recall events that happened decade ago, the Livehindustan report said.

Assembly elections will be held in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa - in the coming weeks.

As per the schedule of the Election Commission, the polling for the five states will be held in seven phases, with the first phase commencing from February 10 and the last phase ending on March 7.

The counting will take place on March 10.