An election booth inside a forest in India – for just one voter

Hindu monk Mahant Haridas Udaseen, the sole registered voter at a polling station situated inside Gir forest, the last remaining natural habitat of the endangered Asiatic lion. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

Deep inside a protected Indian forest, a Hindu monk casts his ballot, ensuring a 100 percent turnout at the polling station where he is the sole registered voter.

India is in the midst of the largest democratic exercise in human history and the country pledges to reach every voter, no matter where they live.

That required polling officials to traverse through the Gir forest in Gujarat state, the last remaining natural habitat of the endangered Asiatic lion, to set up a voting booth on Tuesday in Banej, where Mahant Haridas Udaseen is the sole resident.

Nearly 969 million people are eligible to vote this year, and electoral laws demand that each voter is no more than 2km (1.2 miles) away from a polling booth.

For polling officers in Gujarat, that meant a two-day trip, including a long and bumpy journey by bus on unpaved forest roads, to ensure the monk could participate.

Udaseen, clad in a saffron robe and his face smeared with sandalwood, arrived at the booth before lunch. But Election Commission rules mean the booth must stay operational until the evening, even without another human for miles around.

The law also requires each polling booth to be helmed by at least six polling staff and two police officers.

Udaseen is the custodian of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, sitting deep in the Gir forest next to a stream infested with crocodiles, moving there in 2019 after the death of his predecessor.

More than half a million people visit the forest each year, riding in open-top jeeps as they try to spot prowling leopards, jackals and hyenas.

But the main attraction is the Asiatic lion, of which there are only about 700.

Nearly 969 million people are eligible to vote this year, and electoral laws demand that each voter is no more than 2km (1.2 miles) away from a polling booth. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

"The fact that a team of 10 people came here in the jungle for just one voter shows how important each vote is," said the 42-year-old, holding up a finger marked with indelible ink to show he had voted. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

The law also requires each polling booth to be helmed by at least six polling staff and two police officers. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

Udaseen is the custodian of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, sitting deep in the Gir forest next to a stream infested with crocodiles. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

More than half a million people visit the forest each year, riding in open-top jeeps as they try to spot prowling leopards, jackals and hyenas. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

Udaseen says he loves the sights and sounds of the forest and is grateful for the fuss being made over his electoral rights. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]

The remote forest department office where the polling booth was set up. [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP]