103-year-old Asghar votes and exults he can now 'die happy'

DINHATA: Every few minutes, he looks at his left index finger, where the indelible dye proves that he has cast his vote. “It has been a long struggle. Finally ,I am an Indian citizen. Now, I can die happy ,“ says Asghar Ali, the 103-year-old resident of Madhya Mashaldanga, a former Bangladeshi enclave in the Cooch Behar district.
Ali, the oldest former enclave resident to have cast his vote for the first time on Thursday , was the poster boy of the Election Commission and officials escorted him to the booth in the morning.
News cameras scurried for a grab of Asli as he hobbled out of his house, Tricolour in hand. The footage was looped by local channels and every time it came on television, fams ily members would rush to catch a glimpse.e While things were tense felsewhere in the district and e people spoke in hushed tones about the outcome of the elecr tions, an atmosphere of eupho t ria prevailed in the former n Bangladeshi enclaves. Voting d is a new experience and die hard support for any political party hasn't set in as yet. Houses in Mashaldanga are yet to receive electricity connections but this did not deter residents from closely following the day's proceedings on a small black and white television set hooked to a car battery .
“We have a battery to run the television set. This is the first time that we are so interested in what is going around in other parts of the state. Earlier, we had a cable connection and watched entertainment programmes. But, this time we are keenly following the election. We planned to celebrate the day with colour before casting our votes but decided against it as it may have sent wrong signals to political parties as they are identified by different colours,“ a youth said.