Narendra Modi's wife Jashodaben cast her vote at Mehsana
Hours after
Narendra Modi tweeted a selfie of his inked finger after voting in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, his wife, Jashodaben, cast her vote 100 kms away.
Neither voted in Vadodara, which is one of the two constituencies from where Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, is running for Parliament.
Mr Modi has
run into trouble for flashing his party's symbol of the lotus to cheering crowds after he emerged from the polling station, seen by the powerful Election Commission as a way of canvassing for votes, which is forbidden on polling dates.
Earlier this month, in election papers that he filed to run from Vadodara, Mr Modi for the first time publicly acknowledged that he is married
by entering his wife's name in a column asking about his marital status. He had left the column blank on previous occasions, including in the last Gujarat state election in 2012.
The Congress, which is expected to be dealt a crushing defeat by the BJP after 10 years in power, seized the issue. Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, who is fronting its campaign for the national election, said Mr Modi's refusal to acknowledge his wife for decades reflects a poor attitude towards women. (Also Read:
Rahul Gandhi targets Narendra Modi over admission of marriage)
"Narendra was married to Jashodaben Chiman Modi at a very young age by our parents, but it was only a formal ritual as Narendra left the house in those days itself," Mr Modi's older brother Som said in a statement issued by the BJP's Gujarat wing when the controversy erupted.
Jashoda Chiman Modi, now a retired schoolteacher, lives on a monthly pension of 14,000 rupees, according to an interview she gave to a newspaper in February. (Also Read:
Jashodaben prays for him to become PM)
She said they married when Mr Modi was 17 years old, and he left her after three years, during which they spent some three months together, and they parted amicably.