
First-time voter at 124: How a typo turned Minta Devi into Bihar's most famous voter
Team TOI Plus
Aug 15, 2025, 15:55 IST IST
What started as a clerical error in Bihar's voter rolls has snowballed into a Parliament flashpoint, opposition protests, and an unlikely dose of fame for a 35-year-old homemaker
At 35, she's a homemaker and a mother of three. But according to the Election Commission of India , the e-rickshaw driver's wife is 124 and voting for the first time.
When the draft electoral rolls in Bihar came out this month, Minta Devi of Siwan didn't expect her name to make headlines. But there it was — a supercentenarian 'first-time voter' born before World War I. 'The Election Commission has made me a grandma,' she laughed.

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These officers will inspire young Indians, especially women, just as doctors used the platform during Covid-19. For Congress, Independence Day seems to be about celebrating itself — as if only it delivered freedom. While Congress played a central and indispensable role in India's fight for independence, many groups and individuals contributed to the freedom struggle. Another example of lack of strategy is Rahul Gandhi's refusal to authenticate the so-called 'atom bomb' voter list document is telling. His excuse — that he needn't sign because he has already taken an MP's oath — is laughable. Rule 389 of the Lok Sabha's Rules of Procedure is clear: when a member quotes a document, the Speaker can demand authentication. An oath is no licence to bypass verification — just as a court wouldn't accept 'I took an oath once' instead of a signed affidavit. 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