Lucknow has set a new record and its something that will make everyone proud. Bracing the scorching heat and the long queues, Lucknow recorded the highest voter turnout in almost half a century. With a record shattering 54.24% turnout, this is one of the few times that Lucknow has witnessed over 50% votes.
Though the voter turnout crossed 50% it is still low in comparison to other regions.
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Back in 1967 the Lok Sabha constituency had witnessed 57.88% polling. Since then, the turnout has been above 50% only thrice – in 1977, 1996 and 2014. In the last polls, the turnout was seen to be 53.06%.
At any rate, the citizens of Lucknow- old and young all braved the heat to cast their votes and express their own democratic right. The city witnessed something of a lockdown as all shops, markets and even ATMs remained closed due to the elections. Amid EVM snags and polling booth issues, Lucknowites stayed strong and waited patiently to cast their votes.
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As for the issues face by citizens, one of the major issue was that for many voters, their names were not visible on the electoral roll. This meant that not only did they not know where to cast their vote, but also faced issues when filing a complaint. At any rate, those votes were lost and remained unregistered with the EC. Another major issue that plagued voters was the slow working of EVMs. Many voters reported the issue and owing to this, huge queues were formed outside the polling booths. As of now, there is no clear word on what exactly these EVM glitches were, but some voters hinted that the machines just stopped functioning.
Even though the elections were marred with issues, it a commendable feat to see so many voters from Lucknow- both old and young partake in the activity and actually make a difference to the city of Lucknow. Since each vote counts, the electoral roll issues were a tragedy, but there’s not much that can be done about it at this stage.
