Lok Sabha polls: 104-year-old voter in South Dinajpur prepares to cast ballot

Jyotsna Chakraborty has seen it all, from the ballot papers to the EVMs; from the mixed feeling of independence marred by the grief of partition of 1947 to the success of Chandrayan, the 104-year oldest voter is a treasure trove of tales.

Chakroborty is the oldest voter of South Dinajpur with no physical problems except a bit short of hearing. She resides in Jagadishpur village under Kumarganj Assembly Constituency. The memory of the partition of 1947 is still fresh in her mind. She said with tears in her eyes, “I was born in Tripura in 1920 but I was married in Dinajpur district of undivided Bengal. My husband Rabindranath Chakraborty was a revenue officer there.

Everything was going well but the partition in 1947 was a bolt from the blue. Even after the partition we stayed in Bangladesh but due to compulsions, after my husband died I moved to India in 1965 and started living here. It was very painful for me to leave Bangladesh suddenly. We had a big house. The memory still haunts me.”

She was the only daughter of her parents. Father Surendranath Bhattacharya was a government official. Late Chief Minister of Tripura Nripendranath Chakraborty was her uncle. As a child, she remembers him visiting her house on several occasions. Speaking about that, she said, “Nripendranath Chakraborty was my uncle. He had come to our house several times. He loved me very much. Then I got married and moved to Bangladesh and the relationship with my parental house was almost severed.” Chakraborty, who is very politically conscious, casts her vote every time and intends to do so again, barring any physical impediments.Officials involved in the election are coming to collect her vote at her house from the last panchayat election. She has two sons, three daughters, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law and grandchildren. One of her daughters has passed away.

“When I was in Bangladesh before the partition, I did not vote there but since I came to India in 1965, I have been voting regularly. I have seen the naxal movement with my own eyes. The polls of those days were different and there had been no personal attacks among the political leaders. Wall writing, placards, posters or festoons were not seen. People could vote in peace and safety. There were no EVM machines and voters cast their votes through ballot paper.”

Chakraborty, a class 10 board pass of those days, not only does her own work at this age but is also very popular with her neighbours. She regularly visits nearby houses.Neighbour Shibnath Sarkar said, “She maintains a good relationship with everyone and is quite active even at this age. Even the younger ones are inspired by her. She is soft-spoken and very helpful.” Her only regret is that she got her last old age pension 10 years ago but due to some unknown reason, it has stopped now. “If it starts again, it will benefit me a lot,” she added.