Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Will fix poor voter turnout, says Thane District Collector

Thane District Collector Ashok Shingare said factors leading to lower voting numbers have been identified. PIC/X

Thane District Collector Ashok Shingare said on Wednesday that he will take corrective measures after the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar, voiced his concern over poor voter turnout in urban constituencies, including Thane and Colaba.

"We are really concerned about urban apathy. We want to appeal to all voters in urban areas to come and vote. It is not a healthy trend, which is reflected," CEC Kumar said as he announced on Tuesday the poll schedules for Maharashtra.

"Look at Gurgaon, look at Faridabad, recently, last election Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Bengaluru South, Gandhinagar, Colaba, Pune, Thane... all are much below state averages of each state," he said. Kumar noted that in Maharashtra, voter turnout in 62 of the 64 urban assembly constituencies was less than the state average in 2019, as was the case in Lok Sabha elections.

Shingare said the factors leading to the lower voting numbers have been identified and they would be addressed. "We are all set for the election and ready to face any challenge," he added. Thane has 71,55,728 voters, including 33,41,070 women and 1,394 from the third gender. Of the total voters, 57,209 are above the age of 85, while 1,65,597 are in the age group of 18-19.

Shingare said that as the state goes to polls, a total of 6,894 polling booths will be set up in 2,268 locations, including 252 in slum colonies and 337 in housing society premises, for the convenience of voters. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20, and counting of votes will take place on November 23.