Home WebMail
| Calgary -1.1°C
Regions Advertise Login Contact
Action News Action News
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
  • Canada
  • US
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Breaking News
  • Latest Updates
  • Featured
  • Live
  • Live Now
  • UK PM Starmer urges ex-Prince Andrew to cooperate in Epstein files probe
  • Hope flickers as lights return to war-scarred Aden
  • ‘Everyone here is corrupt’: What fuels the Balochistan separatist violence
  • Gaza is on its way to becoming a semi-protectorate, just like Bosnia
  • LIVE: Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano – La Liga
  • ‘No ICE in Italy’: Hundreds protest Winter Olympic deployment
  • Yamal scores as Barcelona win at Elche to extend La Liga lead
  • Iran designates EU armies ‘terrorist groups’ in retaliatory move
  • Campaign to boycott Israel looks to future after Gaza ‘ceasefire’
  • Volkanovski wins featherweight title defence against Lopes at UFC 325
  • Trump says India will start buying oil from Venezuela ‘as opposed to Iran’
  • Trump says Iran and US are talking to avert military escalation
  • ‘Trauma does not define us’: Living with loss in wartime Ukraine
  • ‘Deeply insecure’: Why Bangladeshi minorities are scared ahead of elections
  • LIVE: India vs Pakistan – U19 World Cup 2026
  • A vote for continuity? What to know for Costa Rica’s presidential election
  • LIVE: Israel opens Rafah crossing in Gaza as dozens killed in attacks
  • LIVE: Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz – Australian Open 2026 final
  • Fela Kuti becomes first African to get Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award
  • US envoy arrives in Venezuela to reopen mission after seven years
  • US judge orders release of five-year-old and father from ICE detention
  • Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,438
  • Trump orders federal agents to stay away from protests in Democrat cities
  • How much control will the US have over Venezuela’s oil?
  • US, Iran signal talks to avert military conflict amid tensions in the Gulf
  • UK PM Starmer urges ex-Prince Andrew to cooperate in Epstein files probe
  • Hope flickers as lights return to war-scarred Aden
  • ‘Everyone here is corrupt’: What fuels the Balochistan separatist violence
  • Gaza is on its way to becoming a semi-protectorate, just like Bosnia
  • LIVE: Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano – La Liga
  • ‘No ICE in Italy’: Hundreds protest Winter Olympic deployment
  • Yamal scores as Barcelona win at Elche to extend La Liga lead
  • Iran designates EU armies ‘terrorist groups’ in retaliatory move
  • Campaign to boycott Israel looks to future after Gaza ‘ceasefire’
  • Volkanovski wins featherweight title defence against Lopes at UFC 325
  • Trump says India will start buying oil from Venezuela ‘as opposed to Iran’
  • Trump says Iran and US are talking to avert military escalation
  • ‘Trauma does not define us’: Living with loss in wartime Ukraine
  • ‘Deeply insecure’: Why Bangladeshi minorities are scared ahead of elections
  • LIVE: India vs Pakistan – U19 World Cup 2026
  • A vote for continuity? What to know for Costa Rica’s presidential election
  • LIVE: Israel opens Rafah crossing in Gaza as dozens killed in attacks
  • LIVE: Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz – Australian Open 2026 final
  • Fela Kuti becomes first African to get Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award
  • US envoy arrives in Venezuela to reopen mission after seven years
  • US judge orders release of five-year-old and father from ICE detention
  • Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,438
  • Trump orders federal agents to stay away from protests in Democrat cities
  • How much control will the US have over Venezuela’s oil?
  • US, Iran signal talks to avert military conflict amid tensions in the Gulf
Photos: Lone Indian voter casts ballot in special forest booth

Photos: Lone Indian voter casts ballot in special forest booth

Polling officers in Gujarat make a two-day trip by bus on bumpy roads to ensure a Hindu monk could vote.

By Al Jazeera Published 2024-05-08 00:55 Updated 2024-05-08 01:01 2 min read Source: Al Jazeera
Explained Human Rights Science & Technology India Election 2024

Deep inside a protected Indian forest, a Hindu monk casts his ballot, ensuring a 100 percent turnout at the polling station where he is the sole registered voter.

India is in the midst of the largest democratic exercise in human history and the country pledges to reach every voter, no matter where they live.

That required polling officials to traverse through the Gir forest in Gujarat state, the last remaining natural habitat of the endangered Asiatic lion, to set up a voting booth on Tuesday in Banej, where Mahant Haridas Udaseen is the sole resident.

Nearly 969 million people are eligible to vote this year, and electoral laws demand that each voter is no more than 2km (1.2 miles) away from a polling booth.

For polling officers in Gujarat, that meant a two-day trip, including a long and bumpy journey by bus on unpaved forest roads, to ensure the monk could participate.

Udaseen, clad in a saffron robe and his face smeared with sandalwood, arrived at the booth before lunch. But Election Commission rules mean the booth must stay operational until the evening, even without another human for miles around.

The law also requires each polling booth to be helmed by at least six polling staff and two police officers.

Udaseen is the custodian of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, sitting deep in the Gir forest next to a stream infested with crocodiles, moving there in 2019 after the death of his predecessor.

More than half a million people visit the forest each year, riding in open-top jeeps as they try to spot prowling leopards, jackals and hyenas.

But the main attraction is the Asiatic lion, of which there are only about 700.

Share this page

  • 𝕏 X/Twitter
  • 🔗 LinkedIn
  • 📘 Facebook
  • 💬 WhatsApp
  • ✉️ Email
Action News logo

Action News

A division of WestNet Continental Broadcasting

About

Part of WestNet N.A.

Action.News

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Action News Code of Ethics

Connect

  • Facebook.com/ActionNews
  • YouTube.com/@actionnew
  • Twitch.com/ActionNews
  • WhatsApp
  • Contact the Newsroom

© 2026 Action News™. All Rights Reserved.

Action News is a trademark of WestNet Continental Broadcasting. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

🔴 LIVE
Action News Live ✖
🔊 Click to unmute