Coming of age: 21 lakh new voters in Maharashtra

With less than a month to go for Maharashtra by-elections on October 21, the state has shifted to the election mode. In all, 21 lakh first-time voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise this year.

As per data released by the election commission, 8.73 crore voters exercised their right 8.94 crore voters, while 8.94 crore voters have been registered for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.

"Going by the data, 21 lakh new voters have been registered. Besides, we are expecting this number to go up since people can register their names till the last date for filing nominations which is on October 4. We will get the final count of voters only after that," said an election officer.

Maharashtra Election Commissioner Baldev Singh said that they are trying to increase voter turnout this year. "In 2009, the voting percentage was 50%, while in 2014, it was 60%. This year, we want to see a rise in the total voting percentage. Therefore, we have relocated 5,400 polling booths from the first and second floor of government buildings. Now, the majority of polling booths will be on the ground floor. It will encourage senior citizens and disabled people to step out and exercise the franchise," said Baldev Singh.

He further said that they are conducting various awareness drives and campaigns to encourage voters to cast their vote. "Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit is leading this social awareness campaign," added Baldev.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 4.57 lakh male voters while 4.16 crore female voters were registered. Besides, 2,507 third gender also exercised their voting rights.

Meanwhile, the election commission had called for a meeting of various departments on Thursday to do a review of poll preparation.

In the meeting, it was stated that the Income Tax Department, Excise Department, and Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax (GST) departments should monitor and check the practice of distributing money and alcohol to influence voters during the elections. They were asked to take strong steps to restrict the illegal transportation of alcohol and money. These departments must also monitor the cash and money transfers during election period across the state.

Actions of candidates should be closely monitored to prevent the illicit use of money and exorbitant election expenses. It was also decided that every check post should be monitored by the State Excise, Income Tax and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.