From Ground Zero : Pune Civic Polls 2017

February 21, 2017

polls-vijayta — Photograph : Sanket Wankhade

It is 8 am and the election volunteer table at Hamza Khan Chowk is empty. Two volunteers come running towards it and exclaim, “There is nobody now, that’s why we aren’t sitting.” The stipulated timing for polling to start is 7 am; the volunteers disagree to this with a sharp grin. Indeed, the civic polls have begun.

Sher Mohammed stands outside a school in Nana Peth. This time, he says, he has voted for development, “Corruption is going to go on forever. This year, people have also kept demonetisation in mind while voting. It didn’t affect me but it surely affected the poor and the daily wagers. You will see the effects of demonetisation in the election result.”

In the midst of finding the right centre for polling, Sanjay Shirole looked frazzled. “The government was supposed to give a slip to each voter before the polls. The slip contains details of the booth that you are supposed to go to. Since most of us didn’t get the slip we have to go to the tables and find our name on the list and locate the booth.” He also adds that it is best to not look at the party and vote, “Each party is busy playing the blame game. We must look at the candidates and their credentials and educational qualification. There are so many problems with garbage disposal. Dustbins are always left in the open. How much have these candidates really done for our ward? So many candidates have criminal records, but that is the problem with democracy.”

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken the initiative to encourage voters by handing out lucky draw chits which have the prize of one litre of petrol that can be filled at any gas station within the PMC limits. “We received a message today morning itself that those with the coupon will get the petrol. But, we will only give petrol till 12 pm,” says Anil Kamble, a gas attendant at Shirole Petrol Pump on J M Road.

This year also marks the first time that voters have to vote for candidates in four different wards. “This is very difficult . How do I know which candidate has done what in the other wards? My concern is mostly with how much the candidate in my ward wants to achieve,” states Naresh Kirad who votes from Pune Cantonment.

19-year-old Parth Tadvalkar is voting for the first time. He has high hopes from his desired candidate will bring to his ward if he or she wins, “I want us to have better living standards. Most importantly, the candidate should be dedicated to improving our water and electricity supplies along with sanitation.”

Text and Inset Images : Vijayta Lalwani for Pune365