GHMC polls: Many in Old City give voting a miss

HYDERABAD: IN all their public rallies, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi had made it a point to urge Old City residents to increase the region’s voting percentage in the GHMC elections. However, after Monday’s debacle, it turns out their pleas were all for nought. 

As on 5 pm, voter turnout in the Old City was in tune with the rest of Hyderabad — surprisingly low! Apart from Chandrayangutta, the poll percentages in areas like Charminar, Falaknuma, Mehdipatnam, Karwan and so on were nothing short of an embarrassment. 

In Chandrayangutta the polling percentage stood at 40.56 per cent, which albeit low, was not as bad as the other areas of the Old City. In contrast, the polling percentages at Charminar was 37.97 per cent, Falaknuma 33.24 per cent, and Mehdipatnam 34.89 per cent as on 5 pm. At Karwan, the polling percentage was one of the lowest in the city — 29.71 per cent. 

The Old City has traditionally seen poor voter turnout due to the presumption that AIMIM would win the elections in the region notwithstanding of the quantity of votes. “The lack of a strong opposition to the MIM has given the rise to a belief that the party would keep winning no matter what. This plays a part in people refraining from voting,” a political analyst said. 

However, this time, other factors such as Covid-19 may have played a role in exacerbating the figures. Locals said that the fear of violence following provocative speeches by some parties also contributed to the low turnout. 

Minor skirmishes were reported in Azampura, Jangammet, Uppuguda, Karwan, and so on. In Azampura, MBT leader Amjedullah Khan had an altercation with MIM workers. His wife, Asma Khatoon, is a candidate from the division. At Karwan, MIM and BJP levelled bogus voting allegations against each other.