Thrissur: A young woman was initially barred from voting in the Assembly elections at Swami Bodhananda School polling booth in Koorkenchery after officials refused to allow her to use a bandaged left index finger to mark her ballot.

The woman, identified as Akshaya, a resident of Koorkenchery, had injured her left index finger on 6 April while handling a mixer. The injury required 15 stitches, leaving the finger wrapped and immobilised.

“The polling officer said I could not vote because ink cannot be applied on my finger as it was wrapped up,” Akshaya said. She first approached the booth at noon and returned with medical reports, but the official refused to permit her to vote.

Protest with child draws political attention

In response, Akshaya staged a protest at the booth accompanied by her child and other voters. LDF candidate V.S. Sunilkumar and supporters arrived at the scene. Questions were raised over why she could not mark the ballot with another finger. Officials, however, did not allow this.

Voters and political activists criticised the decision, citing Election Commission guidelines, which prohibit denying a vote on such technical grounds.

“The polling officer said they could allow me to vote only if the stitched finger was unwrapped,” Akshaya said. Despite repeated appeals, including from the district collector, the official initially refused to permit her to vote.

Voting allowed after hours of delay

After several hours of protest and submitting an affidavit, Akshaya was eventually allowed to cast her vote. She had first arrived at the booth around 1:30 pm but was only able to vote at 6 pm.