Maharashtra elections 2024: Colaba records low voter turnout yet again despite robust awareness initiatives

A voter seeks help from a polling booth official. Pic/Satej Shinde

Colaba was still Woe-laba when it came to voting percentages. The South Mumbai constituency, which includes the Cuffe Parade area, recorded a 44.49 vote percentage at 5 pm, faring badly at the turnout table on Wednesday.

Colaba resident Pervez Cooper, stated that cynicism has permeated the fabric of society, with many citizens "totally fed up with our leaders.". "Just take one example in our area - Colaba Causeway. Has any local representative managed to make it walkable? The answer is no," said Cooper.

Cynthia D'Mello, activist and resident, stated, "This time, we ran a robust campaign - Vote Karega Colaba - with the tagline ‘Don't Think, Get Inked'. We had it on several Colaba building (group) chats. We urged people to get out of their buildings on Wednesday. The fact that polling was mid-week also helped."

Days ago, mid-day had carried a report about the Cuffe Parade Residents Association organising a meet with locals and the Additional Chief Electoral Officer (Maharashtra), Dr Kiran Kulkarni, at a Cuffe Parade garden, where the latter sought to understand why there was always a low turnout in Colaba.

Babso Kanwar, Jt. Secretary, CPRA, said, "This time, there was a certain ‘cool' factor to the franchise exercise and sentiment. There were new polling booths in buildings, overall, the Election Commission had done a phenomenal job."