Pune: The difference in urban-rural voter turnout remained wide, but ECI's targeted awareness campaigns in 15 urban assembly segments in Mumbai, Thane and Pune showed some positive results. Polling in these assembly segments, which recorded sub-50% polling in previous elections, remained sluggish despite measures like door-to-door voter slip distribution. According to the poll panel data at 11.
40pm, the state's overall voter turnout was 65.08%. The polling in Thane, Mumbai suburbs, and Mumbai and Pune city areas was just about 55%.
The traditional low turnout constituencies like Pune Cantonment registered 52.9% polling, as per ECI data till midnight. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had specifically flagged the poor turnout trend in these urban pockets.
The poll panel sought improvement in voting in these areas citing high turnout constituencies like Gadchiroli, Armori and Kolhapur's assembly segments. ECI officials argued that if Naxalite areas could work on improving the voter turnout percentage, it was about time that urban segments improved their show. dditional chief electoral officer Kiran Kulkarni told TOI that there was a marginal increase in turnout in urban areas in the assembly polls compared to the Lok Sabha elections.
"We can't say it was dismal," he said. The ECI, in its directive at the time of the announcement of polls, laid special emphasis on combating urban apathy owing to the trend of low voter turnout in urban centres in Maharashtra in the past asse.