After sluggish start, voter turnout rises by evening

Election officials reported a turnout of just under 15 per cent till 11.30 am, triggering concerns among candidates across parties

With polling progressing slowly in the first half of the day, political parties intensified efforts to bring voters to polling stations in the afternoon and evening during the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections on Thursday.

An election officer at Khandekar School, speaking on condition of anonymity, said polling was sluggish in several rooms till the afternoon but picked up later in the day. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/ HT)

Election officials reported a turnout of just under 15 per cent till 11.30 am, triggering concerns among candidates across parties.

According to figures released by the State Election Commission, voter turnout stood at 14.92 per cent between 7.30 am and 11.30 am. This increased to 26.28 per cent by 1.30 pm and further rose to 36.95 per cent by 3.30 pm.

Mahesh Wabale, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, said the slow start came as a surprise. “As the elections are being held after a gap of nine years and many candidates are in the fray, we were expecting a higher turnout. However, voter response in the morning session was quite subdued,” he said.

An election officer at Khandekar School, speaking on condition of anonymity, said polling was sluggish in several rooms till the afternoon but picked up later in the day. “In some rooms, voter turnout remained low till around 3 pm. However, after that, the flow increased significantly. Voters were allowed to enter the polling centres till 5.30 pm, and long queues were seen in the evening at a few booths,” the official said.

Tushar Babar, election officer, said turnout had been rising gradually since morning, even as officials had to replace ballot units in a few locations due to technical issues. “The voting percentage has been increasing slowly since morning. At some places, EVM ballot units had to be changed. The final turnout figures will be available later,” he said.

Several voters said they could vote only after work hours, leading to evening congestion at polling stations. Savani Shinde, a resident of Shankarbaba Vasahat, said she had to wait for nearly two hours to cast her vote. “We went to the polling booth after finishing work. There was a heavy rush at that time, and we had to stand in the queue for almost two hours,” she said.