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Kerala woman denied vote over bandaged finger, waits 5 hours with child without food; CEO steps in
Despite explaining that the bandage was due to a recent injury, the presiding officer refused to allow her to vote. According to Akshaya, the officer insisted that voting could only proceed if the bandage was removed to ensure that no prior ink mark was present.
Local political workers, including those led by former minister V S Sunil Kumar, staged a protest outside the booth, demanding that Akshaya be allowed to exercise her right to vote
What began as a routine voting day in Kerala’s Thrissur turned into an hours-long ordeal for a young woman, sparking widespread debate online. Akshaya, a resident of Koorkenchery, arrived at the polling booth set up at Bodhananda School around 1.30 pm, accompanied by her father and her two-year-old child. However, she was stopped from voting because her left index finger, the finger typically marked with indelible ink, was covered with a bandage.
Despite explaining that the bandage was due to a recent injury, the presiding officer refused to allow her to vote. According to Akshaya, the officer insisted that voting could only proceed if the bandage was removed to ensure that no prior ink mark was present. “The presiding officer insisted that I remove the bandage. But I have 15 stitches on my finger after it was injured four days ago when it got caught in the mixer-grinder jar, and it is impossible to remove the bandage. I showed her the medical certificates as well, but she was not satisfied,” she told the reporters, according to PTI.
Akshaya even presented medical documents to support her claim, which her father had to retrieve from home. A medical officer present at the polling station also backed her explanation, but the presiding officer remained firm, stating that she was acting within the rules and would only reconsider upon receiving written instructions from higher authorities, as per Times of India report.
In Thrissur, a woman named Akshaya was initially stopped from voting because her left index finger was bandaged due to an injury. The Presiding Officer refused to let her vote since the election ink could not be applied to that finger. However, the Chief Electoral Officer… pic.twitter.com/nQdgRwtF9g
— Chief Electoral Officer Kerala (@Ceokerala) April 9, 2026
As the hours passed, the situation drew attention. By evening, local political workers, including those led by former minister V S Sunil Kumar, staged a protest outside the booth, demanding that Akshaya be allowed to exercise her right to vote. Administrative officials, including ADM R Manoj, visited the spot following directions from the district collector to assess the situation.
It wasn’t until instructions came from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office that the deadlock was resolved. The directive stated that Akshaya could vote, provided her identity as a registered voter was verified. She was also asked to submit a written declaration confirming that she had not voted elsewhere, as per the TOI report.
After waiting for nearly five hours—without food for both her child and father—Akshaya was finally allowed to cast her vote at around 6:15 pm.
Chief Electoral Officer Kerala’s X account shared the news on the social media platform, and netizens took to the comments to react to it.
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One user wrote, “Offer her compensation for the time she had to wait anxiously. Clearly, this isn’t something to be proud of.”
Another user commented, “She waited for 5 hours with her kid. See how conveniently they have omitted that information.” A third person added, “What if one person has no left index finger? There is clear SOP that ink can be put on any finger on left hand and on right hand index if the left hand is amputed?”
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