Thrissur (Kerala), April 9 A young mother in this central district, initially denied the right to vote due to an injured left index finger, finally cast her ballot towards the end of the polling after a long wait.
She showed her bandaged finger, now marked with blue ink, and said she was able to vote after hours of waiting.
Akshaya cast her vote around 6:15 pm, having arrived at the booth near Kurkancheri at 1:30 pm.
"I don't want anyone else to have such an experience," she told reporters.
She claimed that the presiding officer initially denied her permission to vote, saying that a different finger could only be marked if a person did not have a left index finger.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, she said she was not being allowed to vote because her left index finger was bandaged due to a serious injury.
Around 5 pm, she told reporters outside the booth that she had been waiting since 1:30 pm to exercise her right to vote, which the presiding officer—also a woman—was allegedly denying.
"The presiding officer insisted that I remove the bandage. But I have 15 stitches on my finger after it was injured four days ago when it got caught in the mixer-grinder jar, and it is impossible to remove the bandage. I also showed her the medical certificates, but she was not satisfied," Akshaya claimed.
"I have been waiting here since 1.30 p.m. without food. I will not leave without voting," she added.
CPI leader V S Sunil Kumar contended that the presiding officer was taking an "arrogant stand" by refusing to allow Akshaya to vote, despite other presiding officers asking her to permit it.
Even the Returning Officer (RO) instructed her to allow her to vote, but the presiding officer remained adamant that the direction be given to her in writing, Kumar claimed.
"She (the presiding officer) is not willing to speak to the district collector or listen to the RO," he added.
Polling for 140 Assembly seats in Kerala commenced at 7 am and has concluded.