Much ado about NOTA

While over 87,000 voters chose the NOTA option in the recently held BMC elections, ward number 91, which includes parts of Vakola, Kalina and Sunder Nagar, recorded the highest number of NOTA votes, at 1,135 votes.

Perennial flooding during monsoon, lack of cleanliness, a dearth of open spaces, encroachments on the few existing open spaces, parking problems, and traffic snarls are some of the major issues plaguing the ward, residents say.

NOTA is an option provided to voters who do not have faith in any of the candidates in the fray, or in the agenda of the contesting parties. Shiv Sena's Sagun Naik won from the ward that had six other candidates in the fray, including independents.

After delimitation, ward 91 was formed by amalgamating parts of two electoral wards from the previous civic election.

Dotted with slums and newly-built housing societies, the ward has a mixed voter profile comprising the economically weaker, the middle class and affluent sections.

"There are people who take money in return for a vote, but I cannot do that. I vote for the person who will work for the betterment for the ward," said Manjiri Jadhav, a resident of Manipada — a slum pocket in the ward. She added that while some may have chosen the NOTA option, she cast her vote to ensure cleanliness, no water-logging and a solution to the water problem that crops up from time to time.

Another resident, Milind Pawar from Kalina, said, "We cannot say who opted for NOTA, but areas in the ward are battling issues, including redevelopment that was not carried out properly."

Advanced locality managements (ALMs) in the ward have been voicing their concerns over issues related to land grabbing of open spaces, encroachment and parking woes.

"Land grabbing of open spaces is a big issue here," said Clarence Pinto of Voice of Kalina, which is fighting Mhada to avoid having a transit accommodation on a play ground.

Lack of open spaces is a big issue for the youth too. "I travel to Juhu to play on Sunday," said Sashant Pawar, 21.

Naik, the winning corporator from the ward, said, "Most residents living in posh societies choose the NOTA option. Why should they waste their vote when our educational qualification and other details are available?"

Advocate Dinesh Haldankar, a CPI candidate from the ward, weighed in on the matter, saying: "Another candidate and myself are postgraduates. The NOTA count in our ward could be the highest because the BJP candidate's affidavit was rejected. Voters for BJP may have opted for NOTA. People may have voted this way because they may not know what a true democracy is".

On candidates failing to reach out to voters, Naik said while it is hard to change the mindset of voters who opted for NOTA, a number of housing societies do not even allow candidates to campaign.