Mumbai: In the fourth and the last phase of Lok Sabha polls in the 17 constituencies of Maharashtra, a moderate turnout of 52.07 per cent was recorded, four per cent less than in 2014.
The tribal constituencies of Nandurbar and Dindori, however, recorded the highest voter turnout, as compared to urban constituencies like Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and the six constituencies of Mumbai. Nandurbar recorded the highest turnout of 62.44 per cent, while the lowest turnout was recorded in Kalyan, at 41.64 per cent. The elite Mumbai South constituency registered 50.17 per cent voting, three per cent less than in 2014.
Gadchiroli-Chimur, the electoral constituency in eastern Maharashtra, is reserved for tribals. It has registered more than 70 per cent voting in the six LS polls from 1977 to 2014. Nandurbar has been a bastion of the Congress since the time of Indira Gandhi.
Tribals from this constituency remained steadfastly loyal to Congress until 2014, when Dr Heena Gavit of the BJP won, in the Narendra Modi wave. But five years down the line, things have changed. Tribals and Marathas in this area have been refusing to allow Dr Gavit to conduct village meetings during campaigning.
The resentment can be traced back to the Maratha agitation for reservation in 2018. During a speech in Parliament afterwards, Dr Gavit demanded that cases be registered against the Maratha Kranti Morcha agitators under the Prevention of Atrocities act. This was despite their apology for attacking her car outside the Dhule Collector’s office.
The record high turnout on Monday is believed to be the tribals’ way of registering their protest against Gavit, using their vote. Dindori and Palghar, the other tribal constituencies, registered a turnout of 58.20 and 57.60 per cent, respectively. This is, however, five per cent less than in 2014.
But it is difficult to predict which way the wind will blow, politically speaking, in these constituencies. There is a close fight between Dr Bharati Pawar of the BJP and Dhanraj Mahale of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Dindori and Rajendra Gavit of the Shiv Sena and Baliram Jadhav of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) in Palghar.
On the other hand, the Mumbai South seat — where the electorate is a mix of the rich, middle-class and slum-dwellers — registered a paltry 50.17 per cent turnout. Colaba is considered the richest locality in this constituency and people living here are supposedly original Mumbaikars. However, this region saw a dismal turnout, despite aggressive appeals on social media.
Even Mumbadevi, the Gujarati and Jain-dominated assembly segment, registered a mere 42.70 per cent voting. The low turnout in South Mumbai is considered to be the harbinger of a close contest, which should ring alarm bells for the sitting member of Parliament, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena.
