Mumbai: Confusion marked voting for the municipal elections in Thane due to the new ‘panel’ system, stray incidents of names not being included in the voters’ lists, and minor disturbances in law and order. The district witnessed over 58 per cent turnout.
This time, the size of the wards was increased so that four corporators could be made responsible for a single ward. As a result, there were four buttons on voting machines, which confused some voters.
Civic and police officials said while confusion over the new system prevailed for the first hour or so, the process became smoother after polling officials explained the procedure to voters before they went in to vote.
The other issue the authorities faced was tempers running high due to voters not finding their names in voters’ lists. The communally sensitive area of Rabodi witnessed the most serious situation, with around 300 voters losing their temper after not finding their names in the lists. The Thane Police had to impose additional bandobast to make sure matters did not get out of hand.
“We stood in long queues just so we could cast our votes but it was all in vain. There should have been better preparation. Why should we listen to barbs about us being responsible for civic problems because we do not exercise our right to vote when the authorities themselves do not do their work properly?” said Rabodi resident Iqbal Sheikh.
Sandeep Malvi, Public Relations Officer, Thane Municipal Corporation, however, said, “We had released the lists of voters four to five days earlier, and there was ample opportunity for everyone to check if their names were on the lists. There is little we can do at the last minute.”
On the other hand, there were also examples of people patiently braving long queues to exercise their right to vote. Twins Sabah and Sadaf Ansari, 20 years old, got their voter ID cards for the first time this year and had excitedly been waiting to case their votes. “There were queues and the situation was tense due to a lot of names not being on the voters’ lists but we had promised each other that we would go through everything to cast our votes,” said Sabah.
Thane resident Dilip Khade, who was getting married on Tuesday afternoon, reached his polling booth in Wagle Estate at around 9 am, dressed in his wedding outfit, accompanied by his sister. “Getting married is no reason why I should not be doing my duty,” Mr. Khade said, before proceeding for his wedding.
Nikhil Menon, a resident of the Vasant Vihar, went out to case his vote in spite of having suffered a recent back injury. “I was not sure if I would be able to go at all because of the pain but decided to step out in the afternoon. Fortunately, there wasn't a queue when I got to my polling booth, and I was able to cast my vote,” Mr. Menon said.
Meanwhile, the Wagle Estate police registered a case against Shahaji Javir, former Shiv Sena corporator from Ambika Nagar in Thane, after he was allegedly found to be distributing money among residents of the slum pocket in the area. Police officials said he has been booked under the Indian Penal Code and is being questioned.
“There was also a minor clash between Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party party workers in Mumbra early on Tuesday morning, which was quickly quelled, and former Ulhasnagar mayor Asha Idnani’s car was vandalised. We are conducting inquiries into both incidents,” an officer with the Thane police said.
