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Maha polls: Colaba records lowest turnout in state
The infamous lethargy of South Mumbai’s voters returned during Monday’s Assembly polls, with half of the 10 Assembly constituencies of the island city recording
The infamous lethargy of South Mumbai’s voters returned during Monday’s Assembly polls, with half of the 10 Assembly constituencies of the island city recording among the lowest voter turnout.
The island city comprises Colaba, Malabar Hill, Mumbadevi, Byculla, Worli, Shivadi, Mahim, Wadala, Sion Koliwada, and Dharavi, and has a total of 25,04,367 voters. Together, the 10 constituencies recorded a voter turnout of 48.63%, way below the state average of 60.46%. Moreover, all constituencies recorded lower turnout in comparison to the 2014 Assembly elections.
Sion-Koliwada recorded 50.75% turnout, Dharavi 47.79%, Wadala 53.08%, Mahim 53.20%, Worli 50.20%, Shivadi 49.48%, Byculla 51.10% and Mumbadevi 44.71%. Malabar Hill recorded 47.24% voter turnout, lower than the 2014 turnout at 52.56%, or the Lok Sabha election turnout at 56.08%.
Discouraging voters further, the electronic voting machines (EVMs) in many constituencies, such as in Colaba, Dharavi, Wadala, malfunctioned. In Worli, three EVMs shut down at a single polling station and voting was halted for 1.45 hours.
Voters also found their names missing from the electoral list. Amit Pandey, 21, from Sion-Koliwada, said in disappointment, “After the Lok Sabha elections, I did everything needed to enroll myself two months ago, but my name is missing. This is very disappointing.”
The Colaba constituency emerged as the lowest performer in Mumbai, by recording only 40.20% voter turnout. Similarly, in 2014, Colaba had recorded 46.20% voter turnout, and in the Lok Sabha elections five months ago, the constituency recorded 45.16% voter turnout.
The fact was evident at polling stations across the city, with the lengthy queues at polling stations missing from the picture. The Colaba constituency consistently lagged behind during the day, for example, noting only 7.50% voting at 11.00 am, seven to ten points behind its neighbours.
The fact did not go unnoticed by voters. Gerson Da Cunha, 90, renowned actor and writer, who voted at KC College at Colaba expressed concern at the low turnout.
Some parts of the island city saw drama, with party workers of the Congress, Shiv Sena and AIMIM showing their might in Dharavi, and openly campaigning for their parties at Shahu Nagar. “The activists were doing all kinds of things to lure voters and the police did not intervene,” alleged Mahesh Mhatre, a resident of Dharavi.
Senior citizens voted more enthusiastically in comparison to younger voters. Hiralal Doshi, 93, a resident of Worli, who has voted in every election since the first general election in the country in 1951, said, “I brought my grandson along to vote. He is 20 years old, and among the very few younger people here. My son may I haven’t missed a single election.”
Vidyadhar Shintre, another 71-year-old voter from Shivaji Park, said, “I have been voting for more than 50 years from Dadar. There are few voters this, and the reason is lack of options. Also, the long weekend factor resulted in poor turnout.”
Nayana Kathpalia, a resident of Colaba, said, “Historically, Colaba has low voter turnout, for whatever reasons. It is apathy and lack of options, but also that the constituency has buildings that are decades old, whose residents are senior citizens, who may not be able to come out and vote. Their younger family members have moved out, left the city or state or country, but may not have moved their votes to their new residence. There is however, a need to study why the voting per cent is so low in this area.”
