Unemployment, communal harmony on their minds, Nuh voters find EVMs daunting 

Elderly voters in Haryana struggle with EVMs even as unemployment, inflation and communal harmony weighed heavily on the minds of the voters in Nuh.

Kariman, 70, and her sister-in-law Asira, 60, residents of Bhadas in Haryana’s Nuh, voted in the general and Assembly elections five years ago also but both were at a loss as they once again came face-to-face with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) when they turned up to exercise their franchise on Saturday.

And this, surprisingly, was not confined to a single polling station. Many men and women across the three Assembly segments of the Meo Muslim-dominated district falling in Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency had a tough time casting their votes through the EVMs.

“More than half of the men and women, especially those above 50 years, faced difficulties in using the EVMs. As soon as they  reached the voting booth,  they got jittery and froze. The polling staff can do little about it as we are not allowed to go in that area, ” said Usman Khan, a presiding officer at booth no. 39 in Ferozepur Jhirka’s Bhadas.

Mr. Khan said the staff tried to explain the voting process using the cardboard model of EVM  at the booth, but that too was of little help. “Though companions are allowed to cast votes in case of infirm and physically handicapped voters adhering to a certain procedure, we cannot allow them to accompany any random voter,” Mr. Khan explained.

Ms. Kariman, 70, said she felt too intimidated and nervous in the presence of the polling staff and could not exercise her franchise. Her son Saad said he had explained the process to his mother and aunt before coming to the booth and showed them videos online, but still the two could not do it.

The polling staff at booth no. 80 in Ferozepur Namak too said that many women were not able to use the EVMs causing the voting process to slow down. Blaming it on rampant illiteracy in the region, the staff suggested the need for the authorities and the political parties to carry out a campaign to educate the voters. 

Vikas Yadav, presiding officer at Punhana’s Luhinga Kalan booth no. 140, said also faced a similar situation with the men and women not able to use the EVMs. “Even when they eventually managed to vote, it is difficult to say whether it was for  the candidate of their choice. Sometimes, they don’t press the button hard enough for their vote to get registered and walk away. So we asked them to come back and press the button again properly,” said Mr. Yadav.