Voting continued in Ghogaryachimet village in Jawahar taluka till 6.30 p.m. on Monday as most of the locals stepped out to vote only in the evening, forcing poll officers to extend the time by 30 minutes.
The tribal village has, for the last several elections, witnessed a trend of people voting till late in the evening.
‘Clear priorities’
Santosh Dhinda, a local, said most villagers are farmers and work in their fields till evening. “By the time they finish work, return home and go to vote, it is as late as 5 p.m. This often leads to crowding at the polling booth around that time,” he said.
Mahesh Pawar, a resident of Ghogaryachimet, said people in cities have the privilege of getting a day off at work but that is not the case in villages. “Farmers don’t get holidays. Villagers do not fail to cast vote, but their priorities are clear. They first finish their work and go after that,” he said.
He said election duty officers gave slips to everyone who came till 6 p.m. and voting went on till 6.30 p.m. as the queue was quite long.
Another resident, Balkrushna Wagh, said this election was better as compared to the last Vidhan Sabha election. “In 2014, scores of people came to the polling booth beyond 5.30 p.m. and voting continued till 7 p.m.”
Palghar District Collector Kailash Shinde said if people have lined up by 6 p.m., voting continues till the last person in the queue casts their vote. The rule ensures that everybody gets to exercise one’s franchise, he said.
