Your choice counts as battle for votes moves to cities

With more than 40% of Maharashtra’s population living in cities, political parties have no choice but to pay more attention to civic polls.

As the battle for political dominance slowly shifts to cities, thanks to growing urbanisation, you, the urban voter, are becoming more powerful. On February 16, go out and cast your vote for the Mumbai civic polls, knowing that your opinion matters and that your vote can make a difference.

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With more than 40% of Maharashtra’s population living in cities, political parties have no choice but to pay more attention to civic polls. What this means is that the political parties and the governments they form will become more responsive to the needs of the urban populace.

The civic polls are now being fought on the issue of governance. Has the civic body done its job by providing you with good roads and infrastructure, adequate water supply and a clean environment? In their election campaigns, leaders have repeatedly talked about what the civic body has offered to Mumbaiites and what they can offer. “Politicians probably realise that people want good governance. If this trend continues in the future, we can expect better performance by our ruling parties when it comes to delivering what they promise,” said political analyst B Venkatesh Kumar.

An HT-Cfore survey conducted three months ago showed that as many as 70% of respondents across the city are unhappy with the civic body.