Inspiring 111-Year-Old Voter Defies Odds to Cast Her Vote in Maharashtra Elections | Nagpur News – Times of India

NAGPUR: Frail, bent, but agile, Fulamati Sarkar, 111 years old, as per her Aadhaar card, earned accolades during Lok Sabha elections this year for defying Maoist boycott calls and walking up to the booth to vote in the blistering April heat. Once again, she’s in the limelight for deciding to perform her electoral duty in Mulchera taluka of guerrilla-hit Gadchiroli on November 20, when Maharashtra goes to polls. She is one of the two seniormost voters in the state this year, having been born in 1913.
Fulamati’s decision to refuse the home-voting facility, as per Election Commission guidelines, has prompted the district administration to make her the Sveep (Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation) icon for the assembly constituency. The Times of India, in April this year, highlighted Fulamati’s effort to visit the polling booth despite the debilitating summer.

While 277 voters above 85 years of age opted for home voting facility by filling up the 12D form of Election Commission, Fulamati displayed eagerness to visit the booth instead, catapulting her to an instant election hero.
Kushal Jain, IAS officer of the 2022 batch and returning officer of Aheri legislative constituency, stated he felt it was a matter of pride for him to have a voter like Fulamati in his jurisdiction. “I feel motivated and excited to be given an opportunity to serve voters like her. We will ensure she gets the best facility, including pick and drop from her place to her polling station,” said Jain, posted as sub-divisional officer (SDO) in the Maoist-sensitive Aheri taluka of south Gadchiroli.
“We will also felicitate Fulamati for her inspiring attitude, and she will be the Sveep icon for Aheri. Fulamati feels proud to come out and vote as it empowers democracy,” Jain told TOI from Aheri.
A refugee from erstwhile East Pakistan, Fulamati is now setting an example for the present generation, who are reluctant to exercise their voting rights. On voting day, Fulamati is expected to visit the zilla parishad school in Govindpur, 300m off her house, to cast her vote.
She moved with her family to Gadchiroli in the Sixties to escape religious persecution in her native village at Khulna in erstwhile East Pakistan. Having lost her husband six decades ago, Fulamati toiled hard to rear her two daughters. She now stays with her grandson, Haridas Sarkar, and his family. “She’s still healthy, barring complications of advanced age,” said Haridas, adding that she has never missed her vote after coming to India.