‘Kaam nahi toh vote nahi’: In Gurgaon, a neighbourhood with 8,000 voters calls for poll boycott

To be sure, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has been under the scanner for over a year after sanitation workers went on strike, and the then commissioner, P C Meena, saw a deduction of her 15 days’ salary after being pulled up by the then state chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Richa Tiwari, a resident of Sector 46, said there is no regular upkeep in the area “The neighbourhood is not cleaned or maintained, at all. Once in a while, workers come… if construction work is underway or garbage is disposed of, it is not moved, or at times, moved to another spot. Our roads are in dire need of re-carpeting… sewers overflow, streetlights don’t work, and the trees are not pruned even as we pay a hefty amount for the plot to the HSVP (Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran) and to the MCG for maintenance,” said Tiwari, who is also the RWA joint secretary.

Tiwari, who was surprised to find how Gurgaon was poles apart from a city like Chandigarh, also asked: “Why is Gurgaon even called the Millennium City?”

The MCG, meanwhile, claimed it has addressed the issues and started civic works in sectors where residents have decided to boycott polling.

MCG Additional Commissioner Dr Balpreet Singh said that boycotting polls was not the right way to deal with the said issues. “Citizens can choose… the NOTA (none of the above) option, but insisting on a poll boycott would not be in anyone’s interests… they should cooperate. We have started civic works and it will take some time as the condition has deteriorated in the past few months. Having said that, we are mindful of the woes, and are holding meetings with sanitation agencies,” Singh added.

Highlighting the issues, residents of Sector 46 said in a statement: “In a poignant display of civic engagement, the residents of Sector 46 have taken a bold stand against systemic neglect by boycotting the upcoming elections. With approximately 8,000 voices poised to remain unheard at the polling booths, Sector 46 sends a powerful message, echoing the frustrations of communities grappling with unmet promises and neglected rights… The absence of meaningful engagement from elected representatives over the past five years has fostered a profound sense of disillusionment and apathy. Sector 46 residents rightfully question: ‘Why should we vote when our elected officials have remained conspicuously silent, failing to fulfil their obligations and address our grievances?’ Furthermore, MCG stands indicted in the eyes of these residents, having failed in its duty to maintain the integrity and infrastructure of Gurgaon…”

During different election rallies, political leaders have also brought up the issue of a dipping turnout in polling in urban areas. The government, in a bid to increase casting of votes among urban residents, has set up 52 polling booths in 31 high-rises across the city. Polling in urban centres has been lower than that in rural areas. Of the 2,407 polling booths, most urban voters come under the 351 booths in Gurgaon Assembly constituency, 428 in Badshahpur, and 244 in Sohna.

Last week, expressing “dissatisfaction” over the prevailing issues, residents of Gurgaon Sector 38 and Sushant Lok had called for an election boycott.

In Sector 38 — which has around 6,500 eligible voters — the re-carpeting of roads and replacing of defunct streetlights have begun. Sajesh Gulia, the RWA president, said the MCG has so far resolved their grievances. “We had been asking for re-carpeting of roads for eight years, but it was never done, which forced us to boycott the polls. We, however, could not continue that as the MCG started the work on Monday,” said Gulia.

Gulia further said Rao Inderjit Singh, the BJP candidate from Gurgaon, who has been the MP in the seat for three terms, was preferred over Congress’s Raj Babbar as he is from Rewari and understands the issues faced by residents in the constituency. “If something happens tomorrow, we can go to Singh, but if Babbar is the MP, he would go to Mumbai. He does not know the people or the place,” Gulia added.