Senior citizens of the state capital put their younger counterparts to shame as they trooped to polling booths on Vote Tuesday, beating cold and age with the zeal to have a say in the process of government formation. Donning colourful shawls and woollens, some of these oldies cast their franchise at model booths under Ranchi Assembly constituency and were super impressed with the arrangements on offer. The Telegraph spoke to a few of them to find out what brought them to the booths

Purushottam Lalji Rungta (92)

• Booth No.: 136, Bal Krishna High School, Upper Bazar
• Came with: The noted businessman of Upper Bazar was accompanied by grandsons Deepak and Prakash Rungta, grand daughters-in-law Sneha and Komal and great grandchildren 
• Vote call: “One doesn’t need a reason to vote. I cannot imagine that someone coming to me with an appeal to vote. Voting is a responsibility that should come from within. I really don’t know what changes have swept the society that the children don’t realise their duties towards the nation. I wish my grandchildren learn this responsibility from their childhood”

Nanda Singh (78)

• Booth No.: 297, Government Girls High School, Bariatu 
• Came with: Daughter and son-in-law. She was happy to be greeted with a rose 
• Vote call: “Main chahti hoon jo bhi sarkar bane, wo purna bahumat se bane. Mili juli sarkar se koi fayda nahi hota hai (Whoever comes to power, I want it to be a majority government. A coalition government doesn’t help much). I have been exercising my franchise for the past 50 years and had always faced problems due to rigging and overcrowding at the booths. There was no queue system earlier, but this time, we not only had a hassle-free vote, but were also served tea” 

Vimla Bhatia (72)

• Booth No.: 292, DAV Public School, Bariatu 
• Came with: Wrapped in a black shawl, the Bariatu resident was brought to the model booth by her daughter. Immediately, she got a wheelchair 
• Vote call: “Despite my physical condition, I urged my daughter to bring me to the booth, as I wanted to vote. Thankfully, I was given a wheelchair here and could exercise my franchise smoothly. I want a corruption-free society and free education for all girls from the new government”

Shanti Devi (67)

• Booth No.: 294, DAV Public School, Bariatu 
• Came with: Daughter and a walking stick
• Vote call: “Like us, youths should also come out in large numbers and vote. After all, it’s our democratic right. But it’s true that we have not seen much development in Jharkhand. Just see the condition of roads. There is water crisis in our locality too. Who will address these basic issues?”

Officialspeak

Even polling officials were impressed with the spirit of the elderly brigade, pointing out that most aged people preferred to come in the morning, when the chill is quite severe. “We had maximum number of elderly citizens in the morning. Till noon, 30 per cent of old people had voted,” said S. Nohra, a polling officer at booth No. 291 at DAV Public School, Bariatu