Gurgaon records highest voter turnout at 70.5%

Gurgaon recorded the highest ever voter turnout of 70.5% on Thursday with the total number of votes polled this year exceeding the total number of registered voters in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Gurgaon recorded the highest ever voter turnout of 70.5% on Thursday with the total number of votes polled this year exceeding the total number of registered voters in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The total number of voters for 2009 elections were 12.30 lakh while over 12.82 lakh votes were polled this year. With a record turnout – significantly higher than the 61.71% polled in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections – Gurgaon residents came out in large numbers to vote for ‘change’ on Thursday.

Nuh recorded the highest voter turnout of 75.6% while Gurgaon recorded 65.5%, lowest of the nine assembly segments in the constituency. The total votes polled in Gurgaon was also comparable to the 70.5% polled in Haryana.

Voters from across the region, including residents of posh New Gurgaon areas that are known for staying home on election day, said they wanted a different regime. Most felt disappointed with the current government.

“We need a government that focuses on development issues and does not bank on divisive politics to obtain votes,” said Sarbajit Singh, resident of DLF phase 5.

Despite being the largest Lok Sabha constituency in the state with over 18.44 lakh electors, the polling procedure went smoothly, with the exception of minor incidents. Several complaints of bogus votes and rigged polls were received by the election office, but most of them turned out to be false alarms.

The maximum number of complaints came from parts of Mewat such as Nuh and Punhana. But deputy commissioner of Mewat, RC Verma, confirmed the complaints were addressed on time and there was no interference with the election process.

“The electoral procedure was smooth and timely. Much planning was required to ensure that the elections were conducted without any law and order issues”, said Alok Mittal, police commissioner, Gurgaon.