Of the Rs 40 crore that the BMC spent this elections, Rs 1 crore was used for advertising the need to vote
Of the Rs 40 crore that the BMC spent this elections, Rs 1 crore was used for advertising the need to vote
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When only 44.64 per cent Mumbaikars turned up to vote on Friday, they did not just serve the idea of a democracy poorly, they also ensured that as much as Rs 1 crore from the state coffers were sent down the drain.
From the nearly Rs 40 crore that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation spent overall in conducting the elections, as much as Rs 1 crore was spent on advertisement sappealing that citizens cast their votes.
The number of people who turned up to cast votes was even less than what was seen in the previous BMC elections, where booths overall registered a 46 per cent turnout.
According to sources at the BMC, the mood at the corporation throughout Friday and Saturday was the that of resignation. "What more can be done to increase the voter turnout? We can't drag them out of their homes."
Sources also confirmed that about 10 to 12 per cent of voters' names were repeated in voters' list, and the names of a large number of people who had died or moved out of the city also figured in the list.
"Additionally, nearly two per cent of voters would have been out of town or the country during election day. Of the rest, which must have roughly been 86 lakh, around 46 lakh people came out to vote.
There should have been more participation," said BMC's Assistant Election Officer R Arote. From the total 45,88,434 voters who turned up for voting, 20,30,223 were female.
"Many people did not go home for days preparing for the elections. So much money was also utilised. Still the voter turnout has been disappointing," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta.
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