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Punjab assembly elections: Ludhiana’s elderly voters, persons with disability exhibit exemplary fortitude
Ludhiana’s elderly voters and ones with disability exhibited exemplary fortitude, exercising their franchise in the Punjab assembly polls
Notwithstanding physical limitations or frail health, the elderly and persons with disability did not shirk from exercising their franchise in the Punjab assembly polls, which were held on Sunday.
Among the voters who showed exemplary fortitude were 109-year-old Bhagwan Kaur of Jagraon, one of the oldest people in the state; and 28-year-old doctor Ishwinder Kaur, who had just undergone surgery, but still drove her paraplegic father to the polling station. While the administration had offered a wheelchair and pick-and-drop facility to the elderly and differently abled, many made their own arrangements or walked to the polling booth.
Super senior trio never skip voting
Three super seniors – 90- year-old Madan Mohan Khanna of Civil Lines, 85-year-old Nihalchand Verma Janta Nagar and octogenarian Sita Devi from Dashmesh Nagar – said they had never missed a single election and to vote was our national duty.
“We have seen the bloodshed of partition, and lost our loved ones. We have also witnessed the glory of independence. We cannot stop celebrating the festival of democracy. Despite the elections commission’s arrangements, we made it a point to walk to the polling station and vote,” said Madan Mohan Khanna.
80-year-old suffers cardiac arrest
An 80-year-old retired school teacher, Diwan Chand of Khanna, who had opted to walk to the polling booth suffered a heart attack, and collapsed at AS High School. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
Pritam Singh, 75; Karnail Singh Kalsi, 66, and Pardeep Kumar, 40, all residents of Dashmesh Nagar visited a special polling station meant for persons with disabilities. However, none of them sought any support or wheelchairs to reach the polling centre.
Pardeep Kumar, who was returning home on his scooter, says, “There is a sense of dignity and pride in voting. We must elect a corruption-free government. Our fight is against those who sell their vote for a bottle of liquor, money or other freebees.”
4% opted for postal ballot
Of the 57,237 eligible senior citizens in the district, only 2,250 voters (4%) opted for the postal ballot facility, while 400 differently-abled residents have also requested the facility. The district has 48,672 voters in the 80 to 89 age bracket, most of whom reside in Ludhiana West (5,063) and Gill constituency (4,640).
There are 8,565 voters aged between 90 to 99 years, of whom 946 voters reside in Ludhiana West alone. Ludhiana has 1,045 centenarian voters, and 275 of them live in Ludhiana East.
