Polling is already underway for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in which 17 seats in Maharashtra, including 6 seats from Mumbai are in the fray. There are speculations that there might be low voter turn out due people going out for vacations. So, in order to encourage people to vote and not go out for a holiday, a resort owner in Junnar, which is near the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is not allowing Mumbaikars to book a room on polling day (April 29).
According to Mumbai Mirror, 28-year-old Manoj Hadawale, the owner of Parashar Agri & Village Tourism Centre, has refused to take bookings of Mumbaikars who are opting out for long weekend preceding polling day on Monday. The former bank employee who offers an agri-tourism getaway in Junnar, around 155 km from Mumbai, told the leading daily, “I thought if I refuse bookings after explaining the reason for it to them, then they might change their mind, and stay back and vote. People should remember that if they don’t exercise their franchise, they have no right to complain about the inadequacies of the next government.”
His resort can accommodate 60 guests at a time, but Manoj admitted that his strategy will bleed his business but that is a small price to pay for the success of the biggest democratic exercise in five years. “For my nation, at least we can do this. If we want development in our nation, then be a part of it. Be a responsible citizen (sic),” he wrote in a post on Facebook on Saturday.
