Bereaved Family Members Put Mourning on Hold, Cast Vote

Nagpur: Putting aside their grief, 27 members of a joint family here cast their votes on Friday despite losing an elderly relative a day ago. Madanmohan Khemani (74), second of five brothers, died here on Thursday.

"He always talked about the importance of voting," said Manoj Khemani, his brother. "Hence, all 27 of us today exercised our franchise at Wardhaman Nagar polling booth. After that we took part in the Utthavna (post-death ritual)," he told officials.

Polling was held in five Lok Sabha seats including Nagpur in Maharashtra in the first phase of the general elections on Friday. 

Wife and mother of a 39-year-old man who died in the morning, and relatives of a septuagenarian who breathed his last a day ago put aside their grief and cast their vote here.

Madanmohan Khemani (74), second of five brothers, died in the city on Thursday.

Abhinav Karhu (39), a resident of Tatya Tope Nagar, died in the morning after a prolonged illness.

Before performing his last rites, his mother Maithili Karhu and wife Shruti exercised their franchise at the Jupiter school polling booth.

Voting is a national duty, his mother said while leaving the polling centre.