E-Paper
Lok Sabha elections 2019: Mohanlalganj ahead of Lukhnow in polling percentage yet again
This is the sixth consecutive general election in which the predominantly rural constituency outshone the state capital in terms of polling percentage.
With a voting percentage of 63.75%, the Mohanlalganj Parliamentary seat once again beat the Lucknow constituency, which recorded just 54.29% polling in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday.
This is the sixth consecutive general election in which the predominantly rural constituency outshone the state capital in terms of polling percentage.
In 2014, Mohanlalganj recorded 58.05% polling to Lucknow’s 54.09%. In 2009, 2004, 1999 and 1998 elections, Mohanlalganj polled 46.3%, 44.73%, 53.79% and 52.65% respectively, while Lucknow recorded voting percentages of 35.3%, 35.28%, 48.57% and 49.35% respectively.
On Monday, maintaining the tradition, polling in Mohanlalganj picked up pace sooner than it did in Lucknow. Psephologists attributed this to the lifestyle of rural people who usually start their day earlier than their urban counterparts.
Election officials on duty in Mohanlalganj said that people started queuing up from 6am onwards and by the time voting started at 7am, there were already large crowds at the polling booths. Mohammed Miyan, head of Mujasa village in Malihabad town, under the Mohanlalganj Parliamentary seat, said, “While rural people are generally early risers, now days, farmers are also busy harvesting the wheat crop due to which they preferred casting their votes early. ”According to the data obtained from the state election commission, by 9am, polling percentage recorded in Mohanlalganj seat was 9.22% while that in Lucknow was 8.78%. By 11 am, the figures had increased to 21.83% in Mohanlalganj and 20.98% in Lucknow. As the voting percentage continued to rise through the day, the gap between the two constituencies widened.
AWARENESS DRIVES PROVE INEFFECTIVE
Lucknow seat’s dismal voting trend continued despite the district administration carrying out a sustained voter awareness campaign. Activities such as human chain formation, organising a voters’ carnival and roping in students to generate awareness seemed to have little impact in boosting the polling percentage. The state election commission had issued directives to the Lucknow district administration to chalk out a road map for ensuring maximum voter turnout in the Lok Sabha polls 2019. It had also directed the administration to escalate the awareness programme to a new level to beat Lucknow’s long history of poor polling percentage in Parliamentary elections.
