Poor turnout in urban areas of Gurugram

Facing civic exigency, the 'Millennial City' Gurugram failed to exhibit much enthusiasm in the polling today. Despite social media buzz and extensive campaigns by the Congress, BJP and Independent candidates, a majority of Gurugramars skipped polling, with the city registering a meagre turnout of around 42%. Though the city — for the first time — was choosing its Mayor directly, it hardly seemed interested.

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According to district election officials, polling remained poor throughout the day, with urban condominium complexes in Gurugram registering particularly low participation. The social media savvy cosmopolitan population of the city stayed away from the booths. Rural areas and villages saw relatively better voter engagement as residents lined up at the booths in large numbers.

According to data, of over 9 lakh voters registered for Municipal Corporation Gurugram, around 3.75 lakh voted. “We were expecting better performance by the voters. Gurugram has the biggest civic crises and is most active on social media grievance portals about their concerns. But those who have made the city 'trend' on social media did not step out to vote. They had a chance to decide their fate but let it pass. The response in urban polling booths was poor,” said local Congress leader Pankaj Dawar.

Taking to social media, residents blamed their lost faith in civic agencies as the key reason for the indifference. “We have been facing crises for years, and have found that no public representative is of any use. They are all powerless in Gurugram, so choosing anyone will not make much of a difference,” read a message posted by an RWA president on X.

For many others, confusion in voter list and the lack of information about booths was the main reason behind staying away from polling.

It was claimed that over 150 people could not find their names in the voter list in Ward No. 7, and could not vote. Similarly, in Ward No. 27, it was alleged that the names of 200 voters were missing.

Simran Kaur (20), a resident of Sector 45, shared her frustration. “I registered months ago, but my name was missing from the list when I reached the polling booth. It was disappointing, as I was looking forward to voting,” she said.

Local BJP MLA Mukesh Sharma said while voter apathy was a reason of concern, those who stepped out would make a difference. “We are concerned about those who did not turn up, but thankful to those who did. This time, we hope MC’s house will re-instill people's faith in the agency,” he said.