The voting age in India is 18 years, but could a three-year-old exercise her franchise?
Thanks to lethargy and negligence on the part of officials preparing the voters’ list for the forthcoming municipal elections, the toddler has been issued a voter ID card (YOJ8588352) with her picture as a one-year-old.
The age mentioned in the ID card is 35 years.
The three-year-old, who resides in Maruthinagar, is an LKG student at a private school in the same locality.
Goof-ups galore
Several discrepancies have been noted in the voters’ list prepared for the municipal elections scheduled to be held between January 22 and 25.
Rrepresentatives of various political parties have alleged that the authorities had erroneously listed many voters belonging to SCs as BCs and BCs as STs. There were also other irregularities such as names being printed twice and deletion of some others.
Terming the incident of the toddler being issued a voter ID card as a “big blunder,” Lok Satta Udyama Samstha district president N. Srinivas said it was an insult to the Constitution and election code of conduct.
Irregularities in the preparation of voters’ list show the negligent attitude of the officials, Mr. Srinivas said and demanded that the State government punish the errant officials so that such incidents are not repeated.
