LS polls: Specially-abled man casts vote with his feet in Gujarat’s Kheda

Ankit Soni lost both his hands due to an electric shock 20 years ago.

Kheda : In any democratic country, the right to vote is one of the most important rights of a citizen. During the third phase of Lok Sabha voting, people of all ages and sections participated enthusiastically.


A unique sight was seen in Nadiad, a town located in Kheda district of Gujarat, where a young man named Ankit Soni, who lost both his hands due to an electric shock 20 years ago, cast his vote with his feet on Tuesday.


After casting a vote at a polling booth in Nadiad, he said that he has been voting for the past 15 years with his feet and urged people to come out and vote.


“I lost both my hands due to electric shock 20 years ago. After that, With the blessings of my teachers and guru, I started drawing. After that, I started writing… I did my graduation, CS. I have been voting for the past 15-20 years with my feet. I appeal to people to come out and vote,” he told ANI.


Voting commenced on Tuesday morning for 25 of the 26 parliamentary seats in Gujarat in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections. BJP has won the Surat seat uncontested.


The third phase of polling is taking place on 93 Lok Sabha seats across 11 states and union territories.


The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.


The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4.