Remote vote

India’s ongoing parliamentary election is touted as the largest in history with more than 968 million eligible voters. It is also incredibly fraud-free with no reports of cheating so far.

There were social media posts, however, reporting that Muslims in West Bengal state were wearing fake fingers to vote multiple times. The prosthetic fingers are worn over the index finger to cover the ink mark, the proof that a person had already voted and therefore could not cast another ballot.

The Election Commission denied the claim and fact-checking by Agence France-Presse (AFP) traced the photos to a 2013 article by an American-Japanese journalist about Yakuza gang members who wear them after losing their pinky fingers.

At a polling booth situated in a jungle in Banej, Gujarat state, western India, multiple voting would be impossible no matter how hard one tried.

The eight staffers and two police officers at the polling booth can guarantee that. You see, there is only one voter in the area.

Mahant Haridas Udaseen is the custodian of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva located deep in the Gir forest next to a stream infested with crocodiles.

Udaseen, who moved to the temple in 2019 to replace the custodian who died that year, is the only resident and voter in the remote place.

Clad in a saffron robe with his face smeared with sandalwood, the monk arrived at the booth before lunch and cast the lone ballot on 7 May.