Lok Sabha elections 2019: Voters choose poll boycott to protest lack of amenities

People of Sabar tribe in Purulia’s Bandwan area in West Bengal called for a boycott of Lok Sabha elections alleging unavailability of electricity in their houses.

As people voted on Thursday in 51 constituencies across 7 states, a few booths wore a deserted look as voters kept away to express resentment over alleged lack of basic amenities in a growing trend of boycott as means of protest,

In Rajasthan’s Bharatpur voters in Rahmanpura, Bajrang Vihar and Kauwa Ka Nangla areas also called for a boycott over alleged shortage of water and motorable roads. (HT Photo/ Representative Image)

People of Sabar tribe in Purulia’s Bandwan area in West Bengal called for a boycott of Lok Sabha elections alleging unavailability of electricity in their houses.

A villager said, “electricity department had said we would get free electricity but they later asked for ₹4000, how would we pay that amount”.

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In Rajasthan’s Bharatpur voters in Rahmanpura, Bajrang Vihar and Kauwa Ka Nangla areas also called for a boycott over alleged shortage of water and motorable roads.

At several booths in Chhattisgarh, which voted in first three phases, banners were seen urging people to boycott polls over the lack of basic amenities like drinking water and government apathy

Spme villagers of Balawas village under Hisar-1st block and Nalwa assembly segment of Hisar district, which goes to polls on May 12, have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha elections, alleging local administration and government apathy.

The villagers have begun staging dharnas and the locals say they will not allow any political party to come to the village for campaigning.

At several villages in UP’s Gorakhpur district, banners could be seen on main roads asking politicians who come seeking votes to keep away. All this to protest the government’s decision to divert the Rapti river that flows past their villages.

In Maharashtra Kolhapur constituency, which voted on April 23, several villagers kept away from the polls to protest lack of any work on the Dhamami dam, which was sanctioned in 1995.

In Tamil Nadu, villagers of Nagaraja Kandigai called for a boycott to protest pollution caused by the local sponge iron plant.