The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
LS polls: Voter turnout dips in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad from 2019
WANTING BETTER facilities to satisfaction with current schemes: These were foremost on the minds of residents in Gautam Buddha Nagar as they stepped out to vote in the Lok Sabha polls on Friday.
One of the most crucial seats in Uttar Pradesh, Gautam Buddha Nagar comprises Noida, Dadri, Jewar, Sikandrabad and Khurja and saw an average voter turnout of 53% ( approximately). This was a dip from the 60.47% turnout seen during the 2019 polls. The electoral battle is between the BJP, the Samajwadi Party- led INDIA bloc and the Bahujan Samaj Party. BJP once again fielded its two- time incumbent MP Mahesh Sharma, while SP and BSP have fielded Mahendra Singh Nagar and Rajendra Singh Solanki, respectively.
In neighbouring Ghaziabad, another key seat, the turnout was 50% ( approximately) — it was 55.86 in the previous Lok Sabha polls. Here, BJP’S Atul Garg faces off against Dolly Sharma from Congress. Sitting MP, Union Minister General V K Singh, cast his vote in the morning; he had announced he would not contest the elections this time.
At the Sector 12 booth in Noida, Satish Kumar sat on a bike waiting for his wife to come out. “I have cast my vote already... ( for) better facilities,” he said, adding that his family has to run to Delhi for basic facilities like hospitals and schools. “Everything is better in Delhi compared to UP. We want our next MP to work for the poor,” he added.
A few blocks away at Bhaurav Devras Saraswati Vidya Mandir booth, Dev was “happy with the current government”. “From roads to employment and security, Uttar Pradesh has come a long way in the past years,” the furniture salesman claimed.
At Sector 31’ s Saraswati Balika Vidya Mandir, Yamini Kapoor was accompanied by her two sons, Yash and Kush, the latter being a first- time voter. “There are too many potholes and electricity fluctuations in the area,” the family complained, adding that they expect their next MP to work on ground- level development.
The Election Commission of India, in a bid to raise voting percentages, also set up booths inside many residential societies in Noida. One such society was ELDECO Utopia Society in Sector 93A. The booth- level officer at the spot said there are three booths in the complex ( 694, 695, and 696), which have been made for the first time keeping people’s convenience in mind. He said till 4.30
pm, the voter turnout at the society was around 54% and he hoped it would “cross 60% by evening”.
“The voter turnout in such society booths is better than any place else in Noida and nearby,” claimed an officer, adding that it had facilities like an AC and people didn’t have to stand up in lines.
Hansa, a resident of Utopia, who came from her office in Delhi just to cast her vote, attested to this: “I might not be able to leave the office for voting if the booth was someplace else.”
At Greater Noida’s Tugalpur Primary School, property dealer Rinku Kumar, who sees “voting as his right”, came to vote despite an injury to his foot. “I have voted for better employment opportunities...,” he said.
A police officer at the booth said the voting process was smooth.
( The writer is an intern with
The Indian Express)