Election day brought to the fore heart-warming tales of courage and determination of the old and the ailing who came out in large numbers to cast their votes at polling booths.

From a 65-year-old paralytic with limited mobility, a pastor with a fractured leg, to an 80-year-old ‘ajoba’ (grandfather) suffering from asthma, they all walked enthusiastically into different polling centers of the city.

At the B R Gholap College in Sangvi polling centre, a 65-year-old paralytic patient Kishori Vasant Lad, who cannot walk without support, came out to vote. Lad reached the polling booth with the help of a wooden chair with bamboos strapped on both the sides, kept ready for the disabled. The polling officer allowed her to jump the queue and vote. The entire process lasted a good 40 minutes for Lad.

Dilip Kale, a pastor, limped his way to the polling centre at a PCMC school in Thergaon. “I had met with an accident over a month back and suffered a fracture,” said Kale even as he walked with support from his wife. “I wanted to vote. That’s why I am here,” he added.

Seventy-six-year-old H K Thokal, a former naval officer, had a hip-joint fracture. “I am a regular voter. In the last Lok Sabha elections too I had voted,” he pointed out.

Seventy-five-year-old Kisabai Pawar was in a complaining mood though. “I am 74, but my identity card shows my age as 41. Do I look so young?” asked Kisabai, dressed in the traditional nine-yard saree, with a smile.

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