SURAT, Sept 5: Disillusionment with the electoral process marked the millennium's last general elections in Surat on Sunday. Unlike the ideal image of a polling day, there were no long queues, as the masses were clearly not enthused enough. The electric mood prevalent usually on polling days was also missing as a result. Only a few die-hard supporters of political parties were seen thronging the polling booths. The scene was no different at Sachin, Navsari, Jalapore, Bardoli or Vyara.In fact Mandvi Lok Sabha constituency had witnessed only 16 per cent voting by 1 pm. Nearly seventy minutes after the polling process got underway, only seven persons of the 2,500 registered voters had cast their votes at Sachin polling centre - quite low compared to the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, according to old timers.At Dada Bhai Anglo School, Navsari, barely 62 voters, out of 21,100, had exercised their rights by 8.45 am. At Navsari Nagar Palika High School a woman, looking for her polling booth, gave vent to her anger saying she would tear the slip. ``What is the use of this slip which does not contain right information?'' she wondered aloud.B A B S High School, Bardoli, held a different picture. Only Muslim voters could be seen there. Last year's communal disturbance in Bardoli appeared to have compelled them to come out in numbers. ``Muslims here are voting with vengeance,'' a voter told Express Newsline.Throwing the concept of secret ballot to wind, many polling stations set up polling booths close to windows. Anyone standing outside windows could clearly see who the voter is opting for.Sarvajanik High School, Songadh, with three polling booths, narrated a different story. Large number of women had turned up there, forming small queues. About 25 per cent polling had been recorded by 3.45 pm.Revealing the ineptness of electoral democracy often found in India, an official at Songadh looked helpless when he saw a party worker bring voters in a Maruti van right in front of the polling station. ``I have asked that man to park his vehicle outside,'' the official said. Asked why no action was being taken against the man, clearly violating the model code of conduct, the official said: ``I am not in a position to take any action. Only my superior can do anything about it.'' He, however, directed some home guards and police jawans on duty to deny the person an entry inside the premises.Election passed off peacefully in Mandvi constituency. In contrast to Surat city, which witnessed stray incidents of violence during polling, no untoward incident was reported from any part Mandvi constituency. ``There could not be any trouble, as you see there are no long queues here. Everything is going smoothly,'' a senior police officer at Vyara said.Barring an ``abusive pamphlet'' which was distributed in Songadh area, everything was under control, DSP (Rural) V M Pargi told reporters. Adhering strictly to model code of conduct and a low turn-out have made our job easy, the DSP added.Regarding the pamphlet, Pargi said police had identified two persons responsible for distributing them in Songadh. ``After the elections are over, the police will interrogate them,'' he added.
