Among 16.23 lakh voters, 37 are centenarians in Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat

Srinagar: Over three dozen centenarians, each with a century of memories etched in their minds, are eligible to exercise their democratic right in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in hilly Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir which is part of parliament constituency.

"There are 37 voters above the age of 100 years. We have made special arrangements for them and wherever palkis (palanquins) are needed will be provided to them so that they come and vote," District Electoral Officer (DEO) Doda, Harvinder Singh, said.

Out of the 37 centenarian voters, the oldest is aged 108 years. Though the Election Commission has kept a provision to allow such voters to cast their votes at their homes, the enthusiastic centenarian voters in Doda have decided to reach the polling stations near them on April 19 with other voters.

In hilly Doda district, where time flows like the river carving its way through the valleys, the legacy of these centenarian voters will endure, a beacon of resilience amidst the changing tides of history.

The Udhampur-Doda constituency is going for the polls during the first phase of parliamentary elections on April 19 with battle lines drawn between Rajput candidates of the BJP and the Congress.

While the BJP has re-nominated Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in PMO for the third term, the Congress has put its money on Choudhary Lal Singh, a controversial politician, who rejoined the grand old party after a hiatus of a decade.

Over 16.23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates in Udhampur-Doda constituency.