Kottayam: The next time you head out to vote, you may not have to endure long, tiring queues under the scorching sun. Comfortable seating, drinking water, and even a mobile app to check the crowd at your polling booth could soon be part of your voting experience. These voter-friendly changes, being implemented on the basis of a recent Kerala High Court order, owe much to the determination of an 81-year-old man from Vaikom — Nedumchirayil N. M. Taha.

A former president of the Vechur panchayat, Taha approached the High Court seeking to address what he described as a larger social issue.
“I served as a panchayat member for 12 years and as its president from 1995 to 2000. I’m now 81 and no longer active in politics, but I still keep track of the voters’ list. Each polling station has more than 1,200 voters. While there are three separate votes — for the district panchayat, block panchayat, and local panchayat — there’s only one booth for all of them,” he explains.

Taha pointed out that, as per the Election Commission’s schedule, each of the 1,200 voters would get only 30 to 40 seconds inside the polling booth. His petition sought an increase in the number of booths to ease the rush.

“The High Court agreed that my demand was justified. But since increasing the number of booths could delay the election, the court instead directed that adequate facilities be ensured for voters at polling stations,” he says.

The Election Commission, however, argued that not everyone on the voters’ list necessarily turns up to vote.

Though the order may not take effect in the upcoming elections, Taha remains hopeful. “It will have to be implemented in the future. Isn’t it a shame for our state if people go back without voting just because of long queues?” he asks.

Taha filed his petition two months ago. Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan, who delivered the verdict, also took into consideration a similar petition filed just four days earlier by V. V. Balachandran from Thrissur. The court then issued a joint verdict.