Maharashtra elections 2024: EC ensures smoother experience for differently-abled voters

A wheelchair bound woman at a polling station to cast her vote. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The voting in the Assembly constituencies within the Mumbai North West constituency proceeded smoothly, in contrast to the alleged challenges voters encountered during the Lok Sabha elections.

The counting will take place on November 23. In the 288-member Assembly, 145 is the majority mark.

Large numbers of people were seen casting their votes in the early hours on Wednesday, however, voter turnout slowed in the afternoon, only to pick up again in the final hours leading up to the close of polling.

The six Assembly segments in the Mumbai North West include Andheri West, Versova, Andheri East, Jogeshwari East, Dindoshi, and Goregaon.

While Andheri West, Versova, and Goregaon have sitting BJP MLAs, Andheri East and Dindoshi have Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs, and Jogeshwari has a Shinde faction MLA.

As the people began coming out to cast votes in their respective booths for these assemblies, they praised the Election Commission and election officials for the decent and hassle-free arrangements.

Speaking to the mid-day, people said that at several polling stations, they found proper arrangements for women, senior citizens, and the differently abled. There were arrangements for wheelchairs, ramps, and also medical facilities at the polling booths.

Many said that they also found the presence of officials at the polling stations who helped them find their names in the electoral list. There were hardly any complaints regarding the missing names in the list except for a very few instances, they said.

"It is really good to see that the Election Commission has made proper arrangements so that voters, including senior citizens, don't have to face inconvenience. My experience this time was much better if compared to Lok Sabha elections. I think people should come out in large numbers and exercise their rights," Lokhandwala resident and businessman Vinod Choudhary said.

Vipul Mane, a resident of Dindoshi, said, "This time, I have noticed a significant improvement. Unlike the chaos during the Lok Sabha elections, where some voters' names were missing, the Election Commission has managed everything efficiently. The response from the public has also been positive, with many women voters and senior citizens coming out to cast their votes."