Lok Sabha Elections Stare At Another 'Boycott Polls' Wave In Several States Ahead Of Phase 3 Voting
Several states including Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Odisha have called for boycotting polls ahead of the third phase of voting.
As the nation is headed towards the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, there are reports of poll boycott calls echoing from various parts of the country. While some are frustrated over the administration’s inaction over monkey infestation, others seek proper roads, sewers, water, and electricity. In the run up to the previous two phases as well, the nation has seen several calls for polls boycott in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha. Let’s have a look at the regions that have issued fresh calls for boycotts, some of which have as many as 8,000 eligible voters.
‘Kaam Nahi Toh Vote Nahi’: Gurugram’s Neighbourhood With 8,000 Voters Calls For Poll Boycott
Ahead of the polling in Haryana which is scheduled to be held on May 25, a Gurugram neighbourhood located in Sector 46, which has around 8,000 voters, has called for a poll boycott as the residents have decided not to participate in the voting process over lack of basic amenities like roads, sewers, sanitation, and streetlights.
Following this, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram claimed that it has addressed the issues and began working in the sectors where residents have decided to abstain from casting ballots.
“Why should we vote when our elected officials have remained conspicuously silent, failing to fulfil their obligations and address our grievances?,” Indian Express reported the residents as saying.
Amid the poll boycott, several banners with the message “kaam nhi toh vote nahi (no work, no vote) were put up across the sector in a bid to showcase their protest.
This year there has been a decrease in the voting turnout in urban areas polling, leading the government to set up 52 polling stations in 31 high-rises across the city. Out of the total 2.407 polling stations in Haryana, 351 of them fall under the Gurgaon Assembly constituency, the report said.
6,500 Eligible Voters In Gurugram’s Sector 38 Call For Poll Boycott
Expressing “dissatisfaction” over the prevailing issues of roads and street lights in Sector 38, Gurugram, the neighbourhood of 6,500 eligible voters called for an election boycott last week.
Thereafter, the re-carpeting of roads and replacement of the defunct street lights began after the residents protested by threatening to abstain from voting.
“We had been asking for re-carpeting of roads for eight years, but it was never done, which forced us to boycott the polls. We, however, could not continue that as the MCG started the work on Monday,” RWA president Sajesh Gulia told the Indian Express.
BJP’s candidate from Gurugram Rao Inderjit Singh has been the MP from the constituency for three terms. He was elected as he hails from Rewari and the residents felt he might understand them better as opposed to Congress’ Raj Babbar.
Poll Boycott In Bihar Over Monkey Infestation
In another similar call for poll boycott reported from Bihar, the villagers of Bangaon village in Madhepura constituency’s Saharsa assembly segment have decided to not cast their votes in the upcoming elections as they are agitated over the administration’s inaction over the monkey infestation.
The villagers say that Bangaon has been plagued by monkeys and are now tired of the unfulfilled promises that keep mounting. Hence, they have decided to say no to voting as there seems to be no end to their woes.
The villagers have also put up posters stating that votes will only be given to the candidate who drives the monkeys away in the village.
Madhepura is scheduled to go to polling in the third phase on May 7.
VIDEO | Villagers of Bangaon village in the Saharsa assembly segment of the #Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency of #Bihar, who are plagued by monkey infestation, have decided to boycott the upcoming elections if there is no end to their woes.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2024
Tired of unfulfilled promises, the… pic.twitter.com/S66UoFA1Wb
'No Water, No Vote': Poll Boycott In Maharashtra’s Sangli
Maharashtra’s Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, which is set to go for polling with 10 other Lok Sabha constituencies including Baramati, Satara, Kolhapur during the third phase on May 7, has also witnessed a similar call for a poll boycott.
The villagers in Sangli district, which is located near the Karnataka border, have been facing water-related issues as a result of which they have decided to say no to voting.
In the visuals that have surfaced online, the villagers can be seen shouting “No water, no vote.”
#WATCH | Maharashtra: 'No water, no vote' says villagers in Sangli district of Maharashtra, near Karnataka border. (03.05)#LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/q19zpfCsrf
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2024
Although a Congress stronghold, Sangli has been allotted to Shiv Sena (UBT) under the I.N.D.I.A. bloc seat-sharing pact. Uddhav Sena's Chandrahar Subhash Patil will compete against BJP's Sanjaykaka Patil.
However, former CM (late) Vasantdada Patil’s grandson Vishal Patilis is also contesting Sangli as an Independent candidate.
On the day of phase 2 polling, a village In Maharashtra's Parabhani Lok Sabha constituency also decided to boycott polls over encroachment issues.
Poll Boycott In Odisha Over Electricity Supply Issues
Residents of several villages that come under the Rairangpur Assembly Segment of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, have decided to boycott the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, to demonstrate their protest against the chronic lack of electricity supply to the villages.
Around 240-300 people living in the Badbil, Balikhani, and Katupit villages in the Bijatala block have been suffering due to inadequate access to essential services, of which electricity supply is the primary concern.
A power plant was installed in 2018 but power supply was cut off abruptly, after which the villagers boycotted the 2019 polls.
Till now, their problem remains unheard with just a few temporary solutions being implemented.
Villagers stated their plight saying, “ For charging our mobiles, either for calls or using the internet, we have to go out of the village. Similarly, children cannot study in the evening due to absence of power. How much can we spend on kerosene lamps,” Indian Express reported.
Therefore, the villagers have now decided to boycott the voting in 2024 as well.
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