When one thinks of first-time voters, it is usually people aged between 18 and 20. But at Konai village in Villupuram district, a couple aged over 40 and 50 cast their votes for the very first time on Thursday. Masi and Govindammal, who belong to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, received their voter IDs only recently and were able to vote for the first time.

“We applied earlier but never got it,” Mr. Masi said. The couple, parents of four daughters, had also been trapped in bonded labour for six years in Vazhapadi, Salem district.