Rajasthan Has 17,000 Voters Over The Age Of 100, Women Outnumber Men 4:1

Age may not be on their side anymore, but their enthusiasm remains undiminished.

Data from the State Election Commission reveals that there are 17,241 voters above the age of 100 in Rajasthan, where Assembly elections are slated to be held soon. Another interesting statistic is that there are more than four women voters in this age group for every man. While the number of women voters is over 13,000, the figure for men is over 3,700. 

NDTV interacted with three such centenarians, all of whom said that they are looking forward to voting in the upcoming elections, the dates for which are yet to be announced. 

Many Political Seasons

Rabia, who is 102 years old, says she has never missed voting in an election, except for the last Assembly polls, when she couldn't cast her vote after she became bedridden. Rabia said she is happy that the election commission will facilitate voting for people like her, who can't go to the election booth, by arranging for them to vote from home.

The 102-year-old has seen many political seasons, many leaders and different methods of voting as well. "First, we used to go and put our thumb impressions on a paper. Now they bring a box," she said, probably referring to the electronic voting machine.  

100 Years, Same Party?

Tikku Ram, a farmer from Jhunjhunu district, which has the highest number of voters over the age of 100, says he can't remember every election clearly but has probably voted for the same party every time - never changing his political affiliations.

"I am a farmer and I will vote. I can see clearly but I can't hear too well. But I will vote," he said. 

When the resident of Nayasar village in the district was asked who he would vote for, he said he keeps that a secret. "I will vote for whichever party does good work," said Tikku Ram. 

'Go Out And Vote'

Atar Devi, who is 100 and lives in Jaipur's Barkat Nagar, will not only vote herself, but made it a point to urge everyone - especially first-time voters - to cast their ballot. 

"You must go out and cast your vote. Doing so is very necessary," she said. 

Number Crunching

Rajasthan has 11.78 lakh voters over the age of 80 and the election commission has said it will facilitate voting from home for those who can't make it to the polling booth. 

The total voters in the state are 5.27 crore (5,26,80,045).