An 85-year-old voter in Kolkata, who had diligently cast her ballot in every previous election, was denied the opportunity to vote on technical grounds on Wednesday, even though her name appeared on the voter list. Anuradha Dasgupta, a resident of Bansdroni under the Tollygunge assembly constituency, arrived at the polling booth at Khanpur Primary School for Boys around noon, carrying both the voter slip issued by the Election Commission and her voter card.
Seeing the senior citizen, everyone present was accommodating, and Dasgupta was quickly ushered into the booth. However, when the first polling officer checked her name, he pointed out a problem. Dasgupta, who was eligible for home voting due to her age, had been marked as 'absent'.
Dasgupta explained that as a super-senior citizen, she was eligible to cast her vote at home. However, she fell ill on April 17 and was hospitalized. She was still in the hospital when the voting team came on April 22 and was unable to cast her ballot. She was discharged only the next day, on April 23. She argued that while she was not present for home voting, she was at the booth in person on Wednesday to vote.
Caught in a dilemma, the presiding officer attempted to contact higher authorities to find a solution. "We feel bad that an 85-year-old person who is a legitimate voter and has come to vote is unable to do so," the presiding officer said. Over the next 45 minutes, Dasgupta tried to argue that since her vote had not been cast and polling time was not over, she should be allowed to vote. Most present agreed that she was correct but stated that since she had been marked absent, they were helpless. After waiting for about an hour, Dasgupta's patience ran out, and she returned home disappointed at having missed a vote for the first time in many years.
