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Urban apathy, local fest hit voter turnout in Faridabad
Gurugram’s neighbouring district of Faridabad recorded 54.45% voter turnout in the assembly polls held on Monday, a drop of over eight percentage points from the
Gurugram’s neighbouring district of Faridabad recorded 54.45% voter turnout in the assembly polls held on Monday, a drop of over eight percentage points from the 2014 elections, according to Election Commission (EC) data compiled till 10pm. The turnout was considerably lower as compared to the estimated voter turnout for Haryana, which stood at 65.66%.
Among the six constituencies of Faridabad, Prithla, where a BJP polling agent was arrested during 2019 Lok Sabha elections for attempting to influence voters, recorded the highest turnout with 62.75% constituents coming out to cast their ballot, followed by Faridabad NIT (61.42%), Tigaon (53.12%), Ballabhgarh (52%) and Badkhal (51.3%). The old Faridabad constituency recorded the lowest polling at 48.2%, as per the EC data till 10pm.
The voting was slow at the start and picked up gradually as the day progressed. Sporadic incidents of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verifiable paper audit trail machines (VVPAT) were reported from several booths in Prithla, Badkhal, Tigaon and NIT Faridabad. At least 15 such incidents were reported in the district.
The returning officers said that the polling was held up for a few minutes due to minor technical glitches and that the elections remained peaceful barring a few local skirmishes. “At least 20 people were detained under preventive measures of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Palwal,” Palwal superintendent of police Narendra Bijarnia said, adding that a minor scuffle was reported in Hathin.
Faridabad deputy commissioner (DC) Atul Kumar said that as per the tentative estimates of voter turnout, there was an upsurge in rural areas and a downward trend in urban area. “In one of the rural constituencies, there has been record voting. A possible reason for the lower turnout could be urban apathy, which is a constant factor in every election and also on account of Ahoi Ashtami (a festival). As many women were fasting, they did not come to polling stations,” he said.
Archana Kumar, a first-time voter, at Sainik Colony in Sector 49, Faridabad, said she was excited to cast her vote. “I woke up early and was among the first bunch of people to vote. I had to wait for 10 minutes,” she said.
Manoj Goyal, supervisor, Sector 49, said a VVPAT had to be replaced due to issue with heat sensitivity. “The glitch was reported at 11.25am and within eight minutes, the machine was replaced. There was minimal effect on polling and the matter was resolved,” he said.
Security remained heightened in Asaoti village of Prithla constituency where polling was barred in Lok Sabha elections as a BJP polling agent was arrested after an alleged video clip—showed him pressing the button on behalf of many women voters in Booth 88 and trying to ‘influence’ voters—had gone viral. An FIR was registered in the case and fresh polling took place a week later. The poll panel had suspended the presiding officer at the time.
On Monday afternoon, as many women voters lined up at Booth 88 in a government school of the village, they hoped that such an incident does not happen. “After the FIR last time and suspension of the officials, no one would dare repeat it and try to influence the voting. The security has also been increased and police is seizing cellphones at the gate,” said Kavita, 28, who claimed that she was among the voters when the said polling agent had pressed the button on her behalf.
Guddi, 55, a homemaker, who claimed to have voted in every election since she turned 18, said she hoped her vote was safe this time. “No one wants a re-election. It is a waste of resources and time. Now that I have cast my vote, I hope nothing wrong happens this time,” she said.
Vivek Kalia, returning officer in Prithla, said that apart from a law and order situation at one booth, no untoward incident was reported. “Four VVPATs had to be replaced due to issues related to paper roll. They were replaced within 15 minutes,” he said.
