Decline in Voter Turnout In MCG Elections
The much awaited MCG elections were held on 2nd March and even though a lot of campaigning was being done all across Gurugram, the DLF-4 candidate Vikas Yadav stood unopposed.
Gurgaon Municipal Corporation (MCG) has recorded a historic low in voter turnout, with only 41.8% of eligible voters participating. This marks a significant drop from previous municipal elections, which saw 63.3% participation in 2011 and 55.7% in 2017. Gurgaon has never recorded a turnout below 50% in any Lok Sabha or Assembly election since 1952, making this decline particularly noteworthy.
Several factors have been identified as contributing to this dismal turnout. Election fatigue is a primary reason, with voters expressing reduced enthusiasm following closely spaced Lok Sabha and Assembly polls last year. Additionally, there was a noticeable urban-rural divide, with polling stations in rural areas like Nathupur and Chakkarpur seeing longer queues compared to their urban counterparts.
Administrative issues also played a role, with many voters finding their names missing from the electoral rolls. Lot of people couldn’t vote because of inclarity on where to vote. For the convenience of the residents, polling booths were set up in the societies. Some of them are Central Park -1, Garden Estate (DLF Phase-1), Heritage City, Corona Optus, NBCC Heights, New Town Heights, JMD Garden, Malibu Town, Vipul Green, South City, Nirvana Country, Vatika City, Tatvam Villa, Tulip White and Mapsko Cassabella. Insufficient publicity and awareness about the MCG polls were further highlighted as issues. The results of the civic poll will be declared on March 12.
The decline in voter turnout serves as a wake-up call for both the administration and the citizens to address the underlying issues and improve civic engagement in future elections.
