Declined voting percentage in GMC election

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Voter turnout is important for the legitimacy of democratic elections, and Indian elections are known for their high turnout. It is also crucial in determining who wins an election because the party preferences of those who vote occasionally are probably different from the party preferences of those who vote each time.

There is great variation in voter turnout in India across constituencies and over time. Study shows that the size of the constituency also seems to have a large bearing on voter turnout. After a gap of nine years since 2013 when the Guwahati Municipal Corporation election was held. Altogether 197 candidates are in the fray in 57 wards, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in three wards have already been elected uncontested. The last elected GMC body was headed by the Congress (2013) but the BJP captured the council soon after it came to power in Assam in 2016 and Congress was reduced to a minority in the GMC.

Polling began at 7.30 am but the turnout was very disappointing. The familiar long queues and happy faces of voters flaunting their inked fingers were missing at some of the booths. But the overall voting percentage is only 53.02. It is a very poor figure. As a city, Guwahati is already loaded with its share of civic problems, flash floods, and acute water shortages in many homes and apartments. On top of this, the COVID-19 pandemic has doubled the worries of the lakhs of people who reside in the city, water-logging problem in the area is an old one, yet no solution has been found yet by the GMC.Pub-Sarania, SouthSarania, Lachit Nagar, Islampur and Gandhibasti areas) face the twin problems of water-logging during rains and shortage of potable water. people find no solutions regarding these problems. Hence the voting percentage may decline.

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