October heat and a day off from work kept Mumbaikars away from polling booths for yet another dismal voter turnout for the 13th Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Selectively long queues and breakdown of Electronic voting machines (EVMs) saw some frustrated voters opting out, while some patiently got their fingers inked marking a 37.5 per cent voter turnout in Mumbai (till 3.40 pm) .

Technical problems in EVMs

Technical problems in EVMs were reported from some polling booths in Mumbai’s Magathane constituency near Borivali and in Sewree. The technical glitches were even seen in Nagpur and Wardha district in Vidarbha. Voters in a Nashik booth also complained that the voter rolls were not in order.

“I have to report to work and cannot wait any longer,” said an upset 40-year old as he turned back. While a senior citizen with arthritis waited for more than an hour due to the technical snag in the EVM. She said, “I wanted to vote and I had no option but wait. My legs started paining but it was worth it.”

Some waited for two hours in many constituencies and some complained of running late for work after casting their vote. Some private firms gave a two-hour or half day leeway to employees, while some had a day off on account of elections. Polling began at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm.

Ankur Bali, a first time Mumbai suburban voter from Borivali pursing his MBA said, “Frankly speaking earlier I didn't like politics but after Modi became the PM, I got interested in politics.....and after his speech and I read what he has done for Gujarat as a CM, I am impressed with him…I expect new job opportunities from the new government.

The voting on Wednesday was a five-way battle between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (SS), Indian National Congress (INC), National Congress Party (NCP), and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to decide the fate of 4,119 candidates in the fray to grab 288 seats.

Early voters

Among the early voters were former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who cast his vote in Karad in western Maharashtra. State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis, a front runner for chief ministerial post if BJP comes to power, also cast his vote in Nagpur.

Bollywood celebrities who went to polling booths in Mumbai were actress Rekha, Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amol Palekar and Atul Kulkarni among others. Cricket’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar also cast his vote urging citizens to come out and vote.

Among corporate honchos, those who cast their vote included HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, Reliance Group chief Anil Ambani, TCS MD and CEO N Chandrasekaran, Godrej group Chairman Adi Godrej and HCC chairman Ajit Gulabchand among others.

Parekh, who was upset for not finding his name during the national elections, said, “We want a change in Bombay. Bombay has been neglected for a long time. Infrastructure has crumbled…transport, housing, increase in slums, governance are the biggest issues here…approvals take years and years… the government was in slow motion. It (Mumbai) is the commercial capital and we need to make it more attractive for companies to come here. This is what we need for the next 5 years. I think we are in for be a coalition with smaller party and smaller number of seats.”

Riding high on the massive mandate in Lok Sabha Elections, where BJP Member of Parliament Poonam Mahajan defeated Priya Dutt, Mahajan said, “Mumbai has always been low on voter turnout. It is the October heat and we have to get people out of their houses and vote. I am meeting and talking to people all around in my constituency and it is steadily increasing … People want a credible party, so a face will not matter when people vote. We have 2-3 good candidates in BJP and will decide.”

Meera Sanyal, former chief of Royal Bank of Scotland and member of Aam Aadmi Party said, “There is a lot of voter apathy in Mumbai. There is a real sense of unhappiness among people because of the candidates with no high calibre. So many voters said it did not make sense to vote though they are voting. For my personal point of view, Indian voters vote wisely. This election will be tough and quite interesting and we just hope that voters give a decision mandate again.”

In Mumbai, out of the total 8,35,38,114 voters in the State, 4,40,26,401 are men and 3,93,63,011 are women. Counting of votes for Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 19.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW