Maharashtra Assembly Polls: Poor show in Pune with 56 per cent polling

Fifteen tractors joined with the help of trollies turned it into a 500-metre-long pathway for voters to reach the polling booth

Even after offering discounts on food, clothing and a range of other stuff, keeping in mind the upcoming Diwali festivities, the Pune district administration could get only 56 per cent (till 5pm) of the electorate to cast their votes. The same election in 2014 had recorded a 64 per cent turnout.

The trolley path
Due to heavy rainfall over the weekend, the road leading to Kambleshwar Baramati polling booth number 351 had turned muddy. To avoid inconvenience, the authorities joined 15 tractors with the help of trollies and turned it into a 500-metre-long pathway so that voters could walk over them and reach the polling booth.

102-year-old Haji Abrahim Aleem Joad turns up to vote with 60 of his family members

400 voters ban polls
Heavy rainfall on September 25 had destroyed the houses of 85 families at Ambil Odha in Tangewali colony. The 400 people who were left homeless due to the rain refused to cast their votes on Monday.

One of them, Sheru Shaikh, said, "Even though we have lost everything, only a few of us got compensation. None of the four corporators in the area are bothered about how we
are surviving." Another local Nanda Shinde said, "The government is not providing us any help. We are used for their political mileage and are given nothing in return."

Shaktiprasad Nitin Gite has come all the way to Pune from London to cast his vote

NCP-Sena clash
In the morning, six bogus voters were detained in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation area and about 30 people got injured in a clash between NCP and Shiv Sena workers. In a complaint filed by ex-deputy mayor from NCP, Dabbu Aswani, he mentioned that 30 people from Sena attacked him near his house. They were counter-attacked by his bodyguards. The Sena has also filed a complaint in the matter, following which the police registered an attempt to murder case.

From UK to India
25-year-old Shaktiprasad Nitin Gite, who is pursuing a Masters degree in Architecture in University of Nottingham, UK, came all the way to Pune to cast his vote. He said, "Due to my exams during the Lok Sabha elections, I could not vote. I was really disturbed to see the low turnout percentage. This time I completed my thesis, assignments and projects so that I could travel to India for the elections."

102-year-old votes
A former soldier in the British Army, 102-year-old Haji Abrahim Aleem Joad, who is undergoing treatment at Jehangir hospital, took a break and ventured out with 60 of his family members to cast his vote. Joad said, "The political scenario has changed a lot and social media helps people a lot to raise their concerns and seek justice. The digital world has made everyone accountable and even the media plays a vital role today. I will do my duty till my last breath."

Voter dies
Sixty-year-old Abdul Rahim Noormohammad Shaikh, resident of Shantinagar Vasat, collapsed while he was waiting in a queue at a polling booth around 3pm. Police said he was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

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