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.