Over 17,000 voters in Karnataka are aged above 100 years

Poll-bound Karnataka has highest-ever number of registered centenarian voters in the State. More than 17,000 people registered in the electoral rolls have already crossed the age of 100 years.

These elderly voters have witnessed all the elections (Assembly and Lok Sabha) that includes polls conducted even before the formation of Karnataka as an independent State. It has to be noted that out of 17,000 centenarian voters, 9,985 are women, according to a report published in The New Indian Express.

However, it is unclear whether they have cast their votes in all the elections. "Those who are around 90 years old too have seen all these elections. We do not know if they voted but have definitely seen them all. We want those who are over 100 years old to vote in this election," the website quoted an election official as saying.

"These elderly voters have witnessed or been part of India's Independence struggle and know the value of democracy. They usually vote unless they have health issues," he added.

The report claims that the Bengaluru district (including Bengaluru Rural and BBMP limits) has the highest number of registered centenarian voters (4,081). At 1,744, Mysuru comes second and it is followed by Belagavi (1,536). These three districts form nearly 40 per cent of all the centenarian voters.

Whereas Kodagu has the least number of centenarian voters (112) followed by Gadag (122), Yadgir (142), Vijayanagara (186) and Uttara Kannada (193).

In order to ensure the elderly to take part in the voting process, the EC has introduced the vote-from-home option through postal ballot.

Overall, Karnataka has a total of 5.21 crore registered voters out of which 2.59 crore are women. Notably, 9.17 lakh voters are first-timers while 4,699 belong to the third gender.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is all set to announce the dates for the Karnataka Assembly election 2023 sometime on Wednesday.