VIdeograb shows an elephant in Jhargram, popularly known as Ramlal was roaming outside polling booths in Jhargram districts Jitusol area causing panic among voters. However the forest officials removed him from the area and drove it back to the forests. “Ramlal is a regular to all major local events in Jhargram,” district forest officials said. Photo: Special Arrangement
In an election where numbers, narratives and nerves are being closely tracked, it was an unlikely “voter” — a wandering elephant named ‘Ramlal’ — that briefly stole the poll spotlight in West Bengal’s Jhargram on Thursday (April 23, 2026) morning.
Before polling could gather pace at Jitushol Primary School, a booth tucked deep inside the forested belt of Jangalmahal, the jumbo ambled in, turning an otherwise routine start into a spectacle that blended anxiety with amusement.
Published – April 23, 2026 12:22 pm IST
