This Kerala man casts his vote with feet

This Kerala man casts his vote with feet

TOI

KOZHIKODE: Those who've been looking for excuses to not cast your vote should learn a lesson from 25-year-old Abdu Samad P N C of Muzhangaloor near Pallikkal in Malappuram district.

While voting is just a simple press of a button for the around 2.6 crore electorate of the state, Samad has to summon his gymnastic skills at the booth to vote with his feet.

Samad has not missed any election in seven years. The student of MA Sociology had his hands amputated after he was nearly electrocuted at age 11.Nevertheless, he has been at the forefront of the campaign and has visited almost all houses in his ward seeking votes for the candidate he supports."Every polling day has presented me with a memorable experience. It is a day when I feel that my voice too counts," he said. Recounting his poll day experiences, Samad says often there is a flutter and confusion among officials when he turns up to vote. "Last time an official even checked the residual stump on my shoulder by lifting my shirt. As I don't have fingers, they put the indelible ink on the second toe of my left leg and I sign the register with my leg."

Samad said he would balance himself on one leg and would lift his right leg to access the electronic voting machine and press the voting button with his second toe. "Selecting the name of the candidate on the EVM is no big deal as I skim through over 460 contacts in my mobile with my toes," he added. Samad has a few words for those who make excuses for not voting."I think you have no excuse to skip voting. Those who say that they would not vote are either busy or disillusioned with politics, or the candidates fail to excite them. What they don't understand is that vote is the only way to change it all," Samad said.

He welcomed the initiatives by the election commission to make polling booths more accessible to the disabled.

Pulikkal panchayat member K M Ali said that Samad's enthusiasm has been contagious. "Whether rain or shine, he is one of the first to queue up at the polling booth," Ali said.