He has seen a lot in these years, but could never exercise his franchise, due to the Land Boundary Agreement caught in a hurdle for several years.
Md. Asgar Ali, a 103-year-old man had an opportunity to cast his vote for the first time from the CoochBehar district of West Bengal during the sixth phase of assembly polls held today. Not just Ali, but his three generations made history by exercising their franchise among other enclave dwellers.
Ali is one of the 9,776 newly registered voters who became a part of India and opted for citizenship.
The registered voters from the enclave are spread across five constituencies – Dinhata, Mekhliganj, Sitai, Sitalkuchi and Tufanganj of the CoochBehar district.
The enclave had a stateless existence, with neither India nor Bangladesh granting citizenship to its dwellers until August 1, 2015 when the historic Land Boundary Agreement was implemented between India and Bangladesh.
These enclaves formally became a part of Indian Union with the execution of Land Border Agreement, 1974 between the two countries at the midnight of 31 July 2015. Of the total 162 enclaves exchanged between India and Bangladesh, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves situated in CoochBehar district of West Bengal were amalgamated with India, while 111 Indian enclaves situated in Bangladeshi territory were integrated with that country.
