Final voting figures in remaining 15 out of the 17 seats are: Dhule-56.68 per cent, Dindori- 65.76 per cent, Nashik- 59.43 per cent, Palghar- 63.72 per cent, Bhiwandi-53.07 per cent, Thane- 49.21 per cent, Mumbai North- 60 per cent, Mumbai North West 54.23 per cent, Mumbai North East- 56.85 per cent, Mumbai North Central- 53.64 per cent, Mumbai South Central- 55.23 per cent, Mumbai South- 51.46 per cent, Maval- 59.49 per cent, Shirur- 59.40 per cent and Shirdi- 64.54 per cent.<doc-sep>Borivali assembly segment in Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency, it said, recorded the highest turnout of 66.19 per cent, while Colaba, in Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, recorded the lowest voter turnout of 45.16 per cent. (Representational Image) Borivali assembly segment in Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency, it said, recorded the highest turnout of 66.19 per cent, while Colaba, in Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, recorded the lowest voter turnout of 45.16 per cent. (Representational Image) The State Election Commission on Tuesday pegged the final voter turnout for the Lok Sabha elections held in Mumbai on Monday at 55.35 per cent. Borivali assembly segment in Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency, it said, recorded the highest turnout of 66.19 per cent, while Colaba, in Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, recorded the lowest voter turnout of 45.16 per cent. Each of the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai comprises six Assembly segments. While the voting in most of the Assembly segments was higher than that recorded in 2014, in at least eight Assembly segments the turnout witnessed a decline. Four of these segments were in Mumbai South, while the remaining three in Mumbai South Central. Click here for more election news The decline in turnout was maximum in Muslim and Dalit dominated pockets of Bandra West, Byculla and Dharavi. Meanwhile, Gujarati-dominated areas showed a huge spike in voting percentage with Borivali polling the highest at 66.19, Mulund at 63.66, Ghatkopar (East) at 61.27 and Vile Parle at 61.19. After Colaba Assembly segment, the lowest turnout was recorded in Mankhurd-Shivajinagar at 47.08 per cent, Dharavi 48.09 per cent, Mumbadevi 48.33 per cent and Versova 48.56 per cent. Leaders from across political parties claimed that one of the reason for a higher voter turnout, as compared to 2014 general election, could be due to deletion of around 3.86 lakh names from electoral rolls across Mumbai, except Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat. Besides, they said, people seemed to have rallied behind the candidates from their community. In five constituencies, there was a spike of over eight percentage points in the polling against last year. The highest spike was in Dahisar, with a major presence of Gujaratis. Voting here increased by over 10 percentage points as compared to last year. The same was the case with the Gujarati pockets in Borivali, which saw a spike of 8.89 percentage points. Constituencies like Anushakti Nagar (9.39 percentage points), which has a strong Dalit-Muslim population, as well as Chandivali (8.2 percentage points) also saw a spike in polling. In the 17 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls across Maharashtra in the fourth phase, poll percentage of 57.32 was recorded.<doc-sep>Text Size: A- A+ Mumbai: Mumbai, which is infamous for its low voter turnout, seems to have bucked the trend this time as four of its six Lok Sabha constituencies recorded more than 50 per cent turnout till 5 pm Monday. The city has narrowly crossed the 50 per cent mark only in two Lok Sabha elections so far since 1991 — in 1998 it recorded 50.4 per cent turnout and in 2014 it clocked 51.6 per cent turnout. This election too, the trend was expected to be similar because of summer vacations in schools, the scorching heat, the lack of 2014 election frenzy and, most importantly, the long weekend. But, according to the official figures, till 5 pm, Mumbai North recorded 54.72 per cent turnout, the highest among all the six constituencies. Mumbai North West clocked 50.44 per cent turnout, Mumbai North East 52.3 per cent and Mumbai South Central 51.53 per cent. Mumbai South and Mumbai North Central, which include some of the city’s most posh areas, recorded below 50 per cent turnout with 48.23 per cent and 49.39 per cent, respectively. Pratap Asbe, a political commentator, said if the turnout was substantially higher than the previous elections, it could hint at an anti-incumbency sentiment. “There is definitely no wave like the last time, but a similar turnout to 2014, or even marginally higher, does not give away much about what the voter could be thinking. If it’s status quo, we will have to wait and watch,” he said. Fewer voters than in 2014 Even as Mumbai’s voter turnout seems to be close to the 2014 turnout, if not more, there has also been a drop in the actual number of voters in the list. Mumbai has 96.39 lakh voters now as compared to 98.93 lakh in 2014, as the state election office pruned the list in the last five years, deleting names that appeared twice and removing voters who are dead or have moved out of the city. At the same time, names of new voters were registered. During the Mumbai civic polls in 2017, the number of voters in the city stood at 91.8 lakh and the city registered a record 55.28 per cent voter turnout, the highest in 25 years. Also read: Mumbai is talking about development that’s happening, that’s why we’ll win: City BJP chief Campaigns to increase voter turnout Candidates as well as citizens have been trying to reach out to voters to create awareness and increase voter turnout. For example, The Times of India reported, a group of youngsters stood at Mumbai’s toll plazas at the city’s borders, reminding people heading out of the city to return on 29 April to vote. Former AAP leader and activist Mayank Gandhi and his team of activists had organised a ‘Vote kar, ungli dikha’ (Vote and show your finger) campaign in the city. The campaign included announcements on all suburban railway platforms of the Western and Central Railways, street plays in different parts of the city and also involving Mumbai’s famous dabbawalas to spread the word. Candidates too walked the extra mile to connect with the city’s youth. Priya Dutt, Congress candidate from Mumbai North Central, and BJP’s Mumbai president Ashish Shelar interacted with youngsters at Khar Social, a pub in Mumbai’s western suburbs. Sanjay Nirupam, Congress candidate for Mumbai North, held a dedicated session with Mumbai’s millennials in his constituency to understand what they expect from their representative. Shiv Sena’s Rahul Shewale, contesting from Mumbai South Central, had a rap song on him composed by two ‘gully boys’ from Mumbai’s sprawling slum Dharavi, while two candidates from Mumbai South — Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant and Congress’ Milind Deora — had engaged in a public debate at a ‘Know your candidate’ session organised by south Mumbai residents. Turnout could have been higher if polling was on a weekday Mayank Gandhi said, “This time there is no wave or enthusiasm like that of 2014. But, the feedback that I have been getting is that the turnout could be similar to last election, which is not a bad thing. People have been talking about having to stand in queues for one or two hours.” He, however, said the turnout would have been definitely higher if polling day fell mid-week. Shyama Kulkarni, trustee of AGNI, a Mumbai-based group of social activists, said, “We had appealed to the Election Commission to have polls on a Wednesday because long weekends dent the turnout. Schools are shut for the summers and parents have already made vacation plans.” Also read: Congress’ Milind Deora gets Mukesh Ambani & Uday Kotak to endorse him for Mumbai South seat Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram<doc-sep>Billionaires and Bollywood stars lined up outside polling stations along with the common folks on Monday in Mumbai. Mumbai: Billionaires and Bollywood stars lined up outside polling stations along with the common folks on Monday in Mumbai, which recorded 51.11 percent voting, almost similar to the voting percentage of 51.59 in the 2014 polls. Polling was held in six constituencies in Mumbai and 11 other seats in Maharashtra in the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. The overall percentage in the 17 seats when polling ended at 5 pm was 52.07 percent, compared to 55.83 percent in these seats during the 2014 elections, poll officials said. India's financial capital also witnessed serpentine queues at some places, in an indication of the enthusiasm among voters to elect lawmakers. Nandurbar seat in north Maharashtra recorded the highest 64.44 percent voting while Kalyan near Mumbai saw the lowest 41.64 percent polling. Voting figures for other seats are as follows: Dhule - 50.97 percent, Dindori - 58.20 percent, Nashik - 53.09 percent, Palghar - 57.60 percent, Bhiwandi - 48.90 percent, Thane - 46.42 percent, Mumbai North - 54.72 percent, Mumbai North West - 50.44 percent, Mumbai North East - 52.30 percent, Mumbai North Central - 49.49 percent, Mumbai South Central - 51.53 percent, Mumbai Sout - 50,17%, Maval- 52.74 percent, Shirur- 52.45 percent and Shirdi- 56.19 percent. The 17 seats were spread across Mumbai metropolitan region and parts of northern and western Maharashtra, having 3.11 crore voters and 323 candidates. The state Congress made 30 complaints to the Election Commission about alleged glitches in EVMs across the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies. A majority of the complaints came in from Dhule and Nandurbar, the party said, prompting ally NCP's state chief Jayant Patil to claim that something was "fishy" in the two seats. NCP president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Union minister Smriti Irani were prominent among political leaders who voted in Mumbai. MNS president Raj Thackeray and his wife Sharmila waited for over an hour at a polling centre in Shivaji Park area to cast their votes. Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya cast their votes at a municipal school in Bandra East. Many captains of industry traded their impeccable suits for informal attire as they lined up outside polling booths, many of them located inside civic body-run schools. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das was seen standing in a queue outside one such polling station, voting for the first time in Mumbai after shifting from New Delhi following his appointment as the central bank chief in December. Prominent industrialists who voted were Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Anand Mahindra and Adi Godrej. Several Bollywood stars, including Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor Khan cast their vote in Mumbai. Aamir, Priyanka and Rekha were among the early voters. Veteran singer Asha Bhosle, actors Hrithik Roshan, Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt and wife Manyata, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, filmmaker Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra and Prem Chopra also voted. Union minister Subhash Bhamre (Dhule) and Congress nominees Milind Deora (Mumbai-South) and Urmila Matondkar (Mumbai-North) were among the key candidates in the fray. Deora was pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant while Matondkar took on BJP MP Gopal Shetty. The other prominent candidates included Congress' Priya Dutt from Mumbai-North Central and Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Parth Pawar from Maval seat. India's richest man, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and richest banker Uday Kotak recently endorsed Deora as their choice from Mumbai South. A large number of first-time voters came out to cast their ballots in Mumbai, marking their formal participation in choosing the next government in the world's largest democracy. Maharashtra has over 1.19 crore voters who fall in the age group of 18-19 years and were eligible to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls for the first time. Balloons and colourful rangolis welcomed voters at some of the polling booths across the 17 constituencies. As part of an initiative by the Election Commission of India to make polling a pleasant experience, certain booths were selected in every Lok Sabha constituency for decoration. Police personnel posted at polling booths across Mumbai earned kudos for lending a helping hand to senior citizens and differently-abled people to cast their votes in the six Lok Sabha constituencies in the city and suburbs that went to polls.<doc-sep>
Shahrukh Khan and Gauri Khan after casting their vote at Mumbai (ANI Photo) Mumbai has once again disappointed with its poor voter turn out in the Lok Sabha elections. The city has recorded just 55.11 per cent voter turn out which is lower than the state average of 55.86 per cent. However, the numbers are better than what was witnessed in the last election when the voting percentage was just 51.6 per cent. The voter out in the six constituencies that went to polls today was: Mumbai South-50.34 per cent, Mumbai North-57.27 per cent, Mumbai North West-53.12 per cent, Mumbai North East-53.35 per cent, Mumbai North Central-54.05 per cent and Mumbai South Central-53.61 per cent. The voting numbers in the neighboring constituencies were also disappointing. Thane recorded 50.22 per cent, Bhiwandi 52.43 per cent, Kalyan 42.99 per cent and Palghar 62.05 per cent. Interim turnout data from the States in which polling is being held today in Phase IV of #LokSabhaElections2019 #GotInked #IndiaElection2019 Download Voter Turnout App and see real-time Turnout Report: https://t.co/wVA1uV4ag3 pic.twitter.com/iWp9mo2nQc — Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) April 29, 2019 Today, polling was held in 17 seats in Maharashtra. The total percentage for these seats was 55.97 per cent. With today’s polling, the election in the state has ended with 60.68 per cent overall voter turn out. This number is almost similar to that in the last Lok Sabha elections when the number was 60.32 per cent. The poor voter turnout was recorded despite repeated appeals made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a number of Bollywood celebrities for higher voting. The Prime Minister had personally tagged the actors to campaign for higher turnout. He had appealed to Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, and many others to encourage the people to cast their ballot. Some of the actors had even responded positively. Polling was held in 72 parliamentary constituencies across nine states in the fourth phase. The total turnout in this phase has been recorded at 63.3 per cent. In the first three phases, the voter turn out was 69.45 per cent in phase-I, 69.43 per cent in phase-II, 64.66 per cent in phase-III.