Delhi Election: 110-yrs-old Kalitara Mandal, the oldest voter of Delhi, casts her vote

As the voting began in the national capital for the assembly election, Delhi's oldest resident, 110-years-old voter Kalitara Mandal arrived at SDMC Primary School Chittaranjan Park in Greater Kailash constituency to cast her vote.

Centenarian Voters

Ahead of the Delhi election, an election official on Thursday had said that more than 130 centenarian voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the February 8 election and they have been said to be treated "as a VIP" on the polling day. Earlier, the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office had identified 150 centenarian voters but the number was revised after physical verification.

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"A total of 150 voters, aged 100 and above were initially identified by our officials. Later, physical verification was done but many of the centenarian voters were found to be dead, and some of them had shifted out of Delhi, so the final figure was revised," a senior official of the Delhi CEO office had told PTI.

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The number of centenarian voters was revised to 132 of which 68 were men and 64 women. The highest number of centenarians, 21, was found in West Delhi district and the lowest, 7, in New Delhi district, the official had said. Kalitara Mandal, a resident of Chittaranjan Park in South Delhi's Greater Kailash constituency, is the oldest voter in Delhi.

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Bachchan Singh, 111, the oldest voter in the 2019 elections in the city who used to reside in Tilak Nagar, died last December. Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh on Wednesday said members of Bharat Scouts and Guides assisted the poll officials in the physical verification process and "documenting their stories". During physical verification, officials checked if such voters are alive or still living in Delhi.

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According to data shared by the Delhi CEO office, there were 42 male centenarian voters and 54 females in that category during last year's polls. "We have been trying for the last four months to identify all voters who are aged 100 or above. This is the first such initiative to cater to such elderly voters who were born before Independence and saw the first general elections in 1952. For us, they are VVIP voters and they will be treated as such," Singh had said last year ahead of the 2019 polls.

(With PTI inputs)