Noida, Apr 26 (PTI) The Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency recorded 53.30 per cent voter turnout for the Lok Sabha election on Friday, according to official figures.
A total of 15 candidates were in the fray for the Gautam Buddha Nagar seat, with 26,75,148 electors eligible to decide their fate. The constituency is spread across five assembly segments of Noida, Dadri and Jewar, Khurja and Sikandrabad.
Khurja and Sikandrabad geographically lie in the adjoining Bulandshahr district but are part of this parliamentary seat.
According to the voter turnout figures shared by the district information office, Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency recorded a poll percentage of 53.30.
The Election Commission data shows that the constituency had recorded poll percentage of 60.47 per cent in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 60.38 per cent in 2014 and 48 per cent in 2009.
It has consistently recorded a voter turnout lower than the national average of 67.40 per cent in 2019, 66 per cent in 2014 and 58 per cent in 2009, the data showed.
Voting took place on 1,852 polling stations across the constituency while around 20,000 security and government personnel were on poll duty, according to officials. The turnout remained low even as several awareness programmes were held in the run up to the polls and for the first time, polling booths were set up inside large housing societies to facilitate voters.
Senior citizens dominated the early hours of voting in Noida in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency as polling began at 7 am here and continued till 6 pm.
District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, who is also the district election officer, joined the early voters to exercise his democratic right. He cast his vote along with his wife at the Cambridge School in Sector 27.
Ashok Verma (66), who was among the early voters in Noida, said, “It was a good experience. It hardly took 10 minutes to complete the process.” Manoj and Sujata were accompanied by their eight-year-old son Sharav to the polling booth. “We have brought him along to show him the polling process so that he, too, participates in voting in the future,” Manoj said.
The posh Sector 15A was also abuzz with voters, especially senior citizens, since the early hours.
“It’s my democratic right and I must exercise it. That’s the most essential part,” said Manju Oberoi.
Her husband Upjive Oberoi said the polling process was quick and smooth, as he walked out of the booth within 10 minutes.
The residents’ welfare association (RWA) in Sector 15A made arrangements for electric vehicles to ferry voters to and from the polling booth.
Riya Sarin, who entered the polling booth just two minutes before 6 pm, came rushing from her workplace in Delhi to cast her vote. “As a citizen it’s our responsibility to vote, otherwise we have no right to complain. It’s our duty,” said Sarin, the last voter of the day at Sector 15A.
While most high-rise dwellers welcomed the EC’s decision of setting up poll booths in condominiums, a few struggled with finding their names on the electoral list.
“The entire arrangement was top class and very comfortable. The voting process went very smooth. We appreciate the district authorities, police and our AOA for making the voting process peaceful and enjoyable,” said Desh Deepak, a resident of Supertech Capetown in Sector 74, Noida.
H L Kaul, a senior citizen of the same society, however, said his experience was not good as he failed to receive his voter ID card. He moved to this society two years ago from Sector 30, where he had voted in the last election.
“I had applied for change of address. Upon enquiry, I was told that the voter ID cards will be delivered through PO by speed post. I called the BLO several times but without any positive response. The voter ID cards are still awaited. I had to come back disgusted. I am a senior citizen and could not travel to sector 30, where I had voted earlier,” Kaul said.
Rajiva Singh, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association (NOFAA), commended the AOAs and administration for the novel effort.
“NOFAA team managed to visit several of these first-time polling booths created in these high rise societies. It was a delight to watch the smiles on the faces of the residents walking out after casting their votes for the first time within their own societies’ compound,” Singh said.
However, he had hoped that the measure would help increase the voting percentage.
In Khurja and Sikandrabad – largely rural belts – voters said caste equations were a factor.
“The mahapanchayat has been impactful here,” a voter of the Hindoli village said.
However, a resident of the Subra village said voters have mixed reaction to caste politics.
BJP’s Mahesh Sharma had won the Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019. He faces challenge from SP’s Mahendra Nagar and BSP’s Rajendra Solanki, among other candidates.
The poll results will be declared on June 4. PTI KIS MNK MNK
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