Lok Sabha polls, fourth phase polling: Maval records 55 per cent voting, falls compared to last two elections

”We registered 52 per cent polling in Maval Lok Sabha constituency till around 7 pm but since the voting went on much beyond the stipulated deadline, we expect the turnout to around 55 per cent in the final count. In Pimpri and Chinchwad, the polling ended by 7 pm but in Karjat and Uran which are in Raigad district the polling went on till 9 pm. The final polling figure will be available by tomorrow,” Returning Officer Deepak Singla told this paper. Another top official estimated that the final figure of polling would be between 55 and 60 per cent.

Singla said the afternoon shower in Raigad part of the constituency had some effect on the voting as it prevented some voters from stepping out of their homes. ”A large number of voters therefore arrived just before 6 pm resulting in the delay in polling process. In city areas, there was early closure but in rural areas of the constituency, there was a delay,” he said.

In 2009, Maval seat registered a poll percentage of 44.71, in 2014 it polled 60.11 percentage votes and in 2019, 59.57 per cent voters exercised their franchise. Stating that the polling process was smooth, Shiv Sena candidate Shirrang Barne said, ”I am not disappointed at the voting count. I was expecting around 60 per cent. But there was heat, rain and continuous holidays. And therefore, the voters did not come out in record numbers.”

Barne is taking on Sanjog Waghere of the Shiv Sena (UBT). The Waghere camp said they expected a higher turnout as the soaring temperature had dipped. ”I was expecting a bigger turnout because the heat had come down, but that did not happen,” Waghere said.

The constituency came into being in 2009 when it registered only 44 per cent voting.

Right from Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district to Panvel area in Raigad district, the police had a tough time, telling voters to keep their mobile phones switched off while entering the polling booth. In Talegaon, especially, police personnel stopped voters about 100 metres away and told them to keep their phones at home or switch them off, otherwise voters were not allowed to move into the polling zone.

While in city areas, the rule was followed strictly, in rural areas of Talegaon, Lonavala, Khopoli, Khalapur and Karjat, the rule was not followed strictly. At some polling booths, voters were seen talking on their cellphones. However, there was one polling booth in Vadvihir polling station in Karjat taluka of Raigad district seemed to be probably among the few ones to have made separate arrangement for depositing cellphones before voters exercised their franchise. ”Over 100 voters first deposited their cellphones in the box kept outside the polling room and then they were allowed to go inside,” said a police official on duty.

While in Karjat and Khopoli areas, the voting was slow in morning and afternoon session, in Uran assembly segment, there was brisk voting right from the morning session. In fact, of the all six constituencies in Maval Lok Sabha constituency, Uran remained ahead in terms of the per centage of votes cast right from the morning session.

In first two hours of polling, Maval registered around 5 per cent voting, in next fours hours it went up by 14 per cent, in 6 hours 27 per cent polling was registered, then it registered 36 per cent voting and by 5 pm, around 46 per cent voting was recorded.

Among the six assembly constituency, Uran which registered the highest turnout, had registered around 6 per cent voting similar to Chinchwad assembly constituency in the first two hours, However, in next four hours, Uran was the highest with 17 per cent voting while other assembly segments trailed. Pimpri was the lowest with 13 per cent voting. By 3 pm, Uran had recorded 42 per cent turn out. And by 5, Uran assembly seat had 55 per cent turnout while overall Maval Lok Sabha seat had 46 per cent voting.

The Pimpri and Chinchwad assembly constituencies which are part of the Maval Lok Sabha seat and are in Pune district trailed other constituencies which are in Raigad district. The voting in Pimpri constituency especially was slow right from the morning. By 5 pm, the Pimpri constituency had the lowest turnout of 42 per cent among all the constituencies. Shiv Sena leader Yogesh Babar said, ”Through the day, the polling followed a smilar pattern. Only during the end of the day, there was high turnout in slum pockets.”

An intense but short spell of rain and hailstorm was reported in parts of Karjat and Khalapur areas. Officials said the polling was delayed for a while. The IMD had forecast rain and thundershower.

The Maval constituency saw an ugly incident which led to the arrest of Shiv Sena (UBT) Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Sachin Bhosale for obstructing poll officials at Santosh Nagar polling centre. ”I was trying to point out that the sequence of three ballot units was not in order. This was creating confusion among the voters. But the officials did not listen to me. They filed a police complaint against me. I was arrested and was released on bail. I was not at fault. Instead of correcting their mistake which seemed to benefitted our rival candidate, they were argued with me and filed case against me,” Bhosale said.

The Returning Officer however said there was nothing wrong in the way the ballot units were kept. “In case, he thought there was anything wrong, he should have complaint to us in writing. He had no reason to create obstruction for the officials in discharge of their duty. We filed a police complaint against him. The police told me that he was arrested and later released on bail,” Sangla.