Kakkanad: Voting and elections are an exciting affair for Asiya even at the age of 108 years.
The oldest voter of Thrikkaka constituency arrived at a polling booth here to cast her vote on Tuesday. She is one among the 22 voters above the age of 100 in Thrikkakara constituency.
From ballot boxes to electronic voting machines (EVMs), Asiya has seen it all.
She vaguely remembers casting votes through the color box method before Independence. When she began exercising the franchise, she would drop the vote in a ballot box labelled with the candidates name and sign.
Though she registered her vote through EVMs in recent elections, she voted through the postal ballot last Assembly Election. Senior citizens past 80 years were given the option to vote via postal ballot as part of the Covid protocol.
Asiya's children and grandchildren had told her about the candidates before she cast the ballot.
Asiya married her relative Ahmed, now deceased, who was a resident of Neythel at Kunnumpuram in Padamugal at the age of 14. Four of her 12 children have passed away.
She currently stays with her youngest son Salim Kunnumpuram. Salim is the Secretary of the Thrikkakara Culutural Centre.
