Conjoined Patna twins vote separately, EC hails

Conjoined twin sisters Farah and Saba were among the voters in the last phase of polling in Patna, capital of Bihar, on sunday.

The two sisters, who have been joined at the head since birth, voted separately. In the 2015 Assembly elections, their names were on a single voter identity card and they could cast only one vote, jointly.

The Election Commission also took note of the twins exercising their franchise.

"A victory for democracy! Saba & Farah, the conjoined sisters of Patna cast their vote as separate individuals with independent voting rights for the first time," the EC tweeted.

The sisters from Samanpura in Patna were pleased after casting their votes.

Saba and Farah have separate bodies, but their heads are fused together. Plans were made to surgically separate them, but doctors deemed it too risky with fears that one of them may not survive.

Later the Supreme Court also disallowed the operation to separate the two and ordered the state government to pay them Rs 5,000 per month.

--IANS

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