Thrissur (Kerala): A young mother in this central district, initially denied the right to vote due to a damaged left index finger, finally cast her vote at the end of polling in the Kerala Assembly elections after a long wait.
She held up her bandaged finger, now dyed blue, and said she could do it vote after hours of waiting.
Akshaya cast her vote around 6:15 pm, after arriving at the booth near Kurkancheri at 1:30 pm.
“I don’t want anyone else to have that experience,” she told reporters.
She claimed that the presiding officer initially denied her permission to vote, saying that another finger can only be painted if a person does not have a left index finger.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, she said she was not allowed to vote because her left index finger was bandaged due to a serious injury.
At about 5:00 p.m., she told reporters outside the booth that she had been waiting since 1:30 p.m. to exercise her right to vote, which the presiding judge, also a woman, was allegedly denying.
“The presiding officer insisted that I remove the bandage. But I have 15 stitches on my finger as it was injured four days ago when it got caught in the mixer jar and it is impossible to remove the bandage. I also showed her the medical certificates but she was not satisfied,” claimed Akshaya.
“I have been waiting since 13:30 without food, I will not leave without voting,” she added.
CPI VS leader Sunil Kumar alleged that the presiding officer was maintaining an “arrogant attitude” by refusing to allow Akshaya to vote despite other presiding officers asking her to allow it.
The returning officer (RO) also instructed him to allow him to vote, but the presiding officer remained adamant that the instruction be given in writing, Kumar alleged.
“She (the presiding officer) is not willing to talk to the district collector or listen to the RO,” he added.
Voting for 140 Assembly seats here began at 7 am and has ended.
