Man aged 107 casts his 72nd vote in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Age-related health issues didn’t deter a 107-year-old farmer in Sulur constituency from exercising his right to franchise on Thursday, when according to his family he cast his 72nd vote.The centenarian, who independently walked to polling stations to cast his vote till the previous assembly and Lok Sabha elections, was this time accompanied by his grandson Dr S Vigneshwaran as he was unable to walk on his own.Ponnusamy, a teacher of Vallikummiyattam, a traditional Kongu folk dance, voted at a govt primary school booth at Sikkanayakanpalayam.For 92-year-old Ramaathal and 90-year-old A Rajamma too age wasn’t a barrier to cast their votes.

Both visited their respective polling stations without anyone’s help. Rajamma, who cast her vote at a private matriculation school at Peelamedu, said she had never missed an election and voting was something she deeply valued. Ramaathal cast her vote at a polling booth at Ram Nagar. She said she was unable to vote in the previous election due to an error in official records that wrongly marked her as deceased.Padmavathi, 84, of Avarampalayam, also exercised her right to franchise, and said she had closely followed political developments through news and never missed election updates.

“This election witnessed significant changes with several new entrants in the political arena.”M Babu, 75, who was bedridden, came to a polling station at Kuniyamuthur in an ambulance to cast his vote.Santhanam, 79, and his wife Usha, 72, said they had been voting together in every election since their marriage in 1979. “This election saw less campaigning activity, and actor Vijay’s entry created a wave in Tamil Nadu politics.”Elderly and disabled voters faced difficulties at some polling booths that had only one wheelchair, forcing them to wait for at least 15 minutes to cast their votes.