Candidates are feeling uneasy about the increased awareness among citizens and the possibility of a substantial voter turnout for the civic polls tomorrow. Barely 48 hours before the polls, Congress candidate from Andheri (West) Somsunder Gowda's 200-odd supporters threatened residents against continuing with a voter awareness drive.
At the New India colony in Juhu on Monday evening, young volunteers took part in a drive to encourage people to come out and vote. With banners highlighting their objective, the volunteers tried to speak to as many residents as possible. They even hired rickshaws to cover all possible areas in ward number 62, an area dominated by middle-class and upper middle-class people.
Amid all this, Gowda's supporters confronted the volunteers and asked them to stop the awareness drive. When they refused, the politician's men threatened them with dire consequences.
"There were just eight of us while they were 200 to 250. They asked us to stop our programme and started cursing us for holding a 'meet the candidate meeting' on Sunday. All candidates from the ward were ranked by us after questioning them about their achievements and objectives. This irked them," said Prashant Mavani from the Juhu Lane Residents Association.
He said there were 6,000 flats across 215 residential societies in the area with at least 15,000 voters. "We wanted to inform voters about happened at Sunday's event. Hence, an awareness drive was organised on Monday," Mavani said.
"They (Gowda's supporters) shouted at us and questioned the need for creating awareness among people. They said that if we wanted to vote, we should do that and quietly sit at home. They added that if people wish to vote, they will. There was no need for us to educate them," said a volunteer on condition of anonymity.
The police reached the spot after being told about the commotion and asked Gowda's supporters to leave immediately. Local residents later submitted a formal complaint to the Juhu police station.
"We have submitted the details about the incident to the election commission in writing. Congress supporters, too, lodged a complaint alleging that members of the citizens' forum were distributing pamphlets which portrayed the candidate in a negative way," said Arun Bhagat, senior police inspector at Juhu police station.
Residents of Juhu Lane, SV Road and Lallubhai Park in Andheri have decided to play a vital role in ensuring a large voter turnout for the civic polls. "It does not matter which party they vote for. We want them to go to the polling booth and cast their vote sensibly. After all, it concerns our future and affects the development in our area," said a resident actively involved in the awareness drive.
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