Lok Sabha elections 2019: Mumbai records highest voter turnout in three decades
The voting percentage stood at 55.11 at 6 pm, surpassing the average in 2014 of 51.59%, the previous highest. The city had recorded a turnout of 41.4% in 2009.
India’s financial capital recorded a moderate bump in turnout on Monday with a number of Bollywood actors and industry captains casting their vote from one of the six constituencies in the coastal city that recorded its best polling figures in 30 years.
The voting percentage stood at 55.11 at 6 pm, surpassing the average in 2014 of 51.59%, the previous highest. The city had recorded a turnout of 41.4% in 2009. The total number of electors in Mumbai this time was lower than the 2014 number by 259,857. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, the Shiv Sena, held three seats each, while in the opposition alliance, the Congress is fighting on five seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is contesting on one. The highest turnout in the city was recorded in the Mumbai north constituency (59.32%) , where actor Urmila Matondkar of the Congress contested against sitting BJP MP Gopal Shetty. The Mumbai North Central constituency, which saw a turnout of 52.84%,, could witness a tough contest between Congress’s Priya Dutt and BJP’s Poonam Mahajan. Bandra (West) recorded the lowest among the six segments in the constituency, with a turnout of 50.01 %. Mumbai South-Central seat saw a turnout of 55.35%. The contest is between the Sena’s Rahul Shewale and former Congress MP Eknath Gaikwad.
The Mumbai North-East constituency saw a turnout of 56.31% turnout with the suburb of Mulund and Ghatkopar East leading with 60.10% and 60.30% respectively. Both neighbourhoods are heavily populated by Gujaratis. The BJP’s Manoj Kotak is taking on the NCP’s Sanjay Dina Patil.
In South Mumbai, which finished at 52.15% turnout, two-time Congress MP Milind Deora is hoping for a comeback against Shiv Sena’s sitting MP Arvind Sawant. The upscale Malabar Hill area saw the highest voting in this constituency at 56%.
In the Mumbai North-West constituency, where Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar is fighting the Congress’s Sanjay Nirupam, the turnout stood at 54.71%.
Many voters said they found their names missing from the electoral rolls.