Bharatdas Darshandas, lone voter from Gujarat’s Gir Forest, dies at 69

“He was diabetic and both his kidneys had failed. He was also having high blood pressure. We admitted him to Christ Hospital on Monday. But his health deteriorated further Thursday night and doctors had put him on ventilator. But doctors said that his heart was failing gradually and declared him death on Friday afternoon,” Haridas Darshandas, head of Jamadgni Ashram in Kodinar taluka of Gir Somnath, told The Indian Express.

Haridas is gurubhai of Bharatdas. Both were disciples of Darshandas.

“He had been battling these ailments for the last five years. He had earlier been given treatment at Jalaram Hospital, Unicare Hospital, BT Sawani hospital etc,” Haridas further said.

Bharatdas was the priest of Bangangeshwar Mahadev temple inside Gir forest. The area falls in Una Assembly constituency and the Election Commission of India had been setting up a polling station at Banej, a forest outpost near the temple, every major election for almost two decades.

Every election, Bharatdas would be the lone registered voter at this polling station and the priest would cast his vote unmistakably.

The EC would send a team of around five to six polling staff and set up a polling booth inside the forest as law mandate that no voter should require to walk more than two kilometres to cast his vote.

The nearest other polling station from Bangangeshwar Mahadev temple is at least 20 km away.

The EC had set up a polling station in Banej during the Lok Sabha election in April this year also and the mahant had cast his vote this time as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also mentioned Bharatdas in one of his Mann Ki Baat monthly radio talk show.

Haridas said that Bharatdas’s last rites would be performed at Jamadagni Ashram at 11 am on Saturday.