107-year-old woman casts her vote in Sikkim

Sumitra Rai, a 107-year-old woman, on Thursday became Sikkim's oldest registered voter to exercise franchise in the Lok Sabha elections. She came on a wheelchair to the Kamrang Government Secondary School polling booth in the Poklok Kamrang constituency to cast her vote.

Her photographs were shared by the official Twitter account of the Sikkim office of Press Information Bureau (PIB), the publicity arm of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

A man aged over 100 years also cast his vote in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland, as per the social media account of the Chief Electoral Officer, Nagaland.

Sumitra Rai, 107, the oldest voter of Sikkim has just cast her vote @ Kamrang secondary school polling station at Poklok Kamrang, South Sikkim.#LokSabhaElections2019 #SikkimElections2019 #FestivalOfDemocracy@PIB_India@SpokespersonECI @DGNorthEast https://t.co/8lKi1gdOQp pic.twitter.com/EWr9GpsqSd PIB in Sikkim (@PIBGangtok) April 11, 2019

Senior citizens stepped out in different parts of the country to exercise their franchise in the first phase of polling held in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies across 20 states and Union Territories.

In Gaya, CRPF personnel extended a helping hand to the aged voters, while in Nagpur, senior citizens led the way by their inspiring participation.

Earlier today, an 83-year-old woman in Jammu and Kashmir cast her vote as well. CRPF soldiers walked quietly towards the shade with Satya Devi holding her hands as she placed one determined foot before another outside the polling booth.

"Dheere dheere aaiye," one of the young women said as the elderly woman prepared to step onto a ramp.

Jammu is voting today in the first phase of elections to the Lok Sabha, the seventeenth such poll in India's history -- and in Satya Devi's lifetime.