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PUNE: Nine years after the last civic polls in 2017, electors in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations will cast their votes on Thursday for corporators who will be responsible for providing better civic services to citizens over the next five years and for planning the overall development of both cities.Their civic bodies have functioned without elected corporators for the past four years, after the tenure of the previous general bodies ended in Feb 2022 and state govtappointed administrators managed the day-to-day functioning.However, residents and political parties have waited eagerly for these elections to see improvement in civic services.Efforts are underway by both civic administrations to increase voter turnout at polling stations on Thursday.
Similar initiatives were taken by political parties and housing societies to encourage greater participation. Party workers were busy on Wednesday with last-minute preparations, appointing polling-station representatives and helping voters locate their names on the electoral rolls.Political experts said that civic elections are especially important because of their direct impact on people’s day-today lives.
These bodies are responsible for providing basic amenities such as water supply, roads, and sewage systems.Many civic issues faced by citizens can be addressed effectively through local self-governing bodies. Therefore, voters must ensure that the right candidates are elected for urban planning and the city’s infrastructure to remain in capable and safe hands, they added.“Constitutional amendments have empowered local bodies, making them a crucial tier of India’s democraticsystem.
Voters must play their role in strengthening democracy by exercising their right to vote,” political analyst Surendra Jondhale said.Political observer Chandrakant Bhujbal said that the tenure of the earlier general body was from Feb 2017 to Feb 2022 and civic polls are taking place after a gap of four years, a significant period for Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, already facing challenges of transportation and civic amenities.
Formation of a general body after the elections will certainly help the administration improve basic services, he added.Citizens’ groups and housing societies from across the city took up special efforts to encourage voters to vote on Thursday. Sarang Wable, from Baner-Balewadi area, said that working committees of various housing societies sent messages to social groups among their members to achieve a 100% voting target.A BJP functionary said, “Our teams are ready for polling day. There will be separate teams of polling agents who will be deployed inside the polling stations, while dedicated teams will be functioning at the kiosks outside the polling stations to help votersfind their names and serial numbers.”A Congress leader said, “Since it is a local election, close fights are expected. The candidates may win with narrow margins.
Every vote will be crucial, at least in the wards having a close contest. We have told candidates and their supporters to remain alert.”Mahayuti members, including the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena, are contesting solo, while in the MVA camp, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have joined hands. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP SP are together for the PMC and PCMC polls.The PMC administration said that it has taken several steps to increase voter turnout.
“We kept a target of more than 60% turnout. Along with social media promotions, offline steps such as appeals through mobile vans, radio jingles, and street plays were taken up by the administration,” Prasad Katkar, head of PMC’s election department, said, adding that oath ceremonies were held at various offices.“Special arrangements of wheelchairs will be available at the polling stations. Seniorcitizens will not have to stand in the queue for easy casting of votes.
Over 930 wheelchairs are placed at various polling stations,” Katkar said.PCMC gears upOnce considered a stronghold of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, PCMC will go to the polls for 128 seats across 32 wards, with the main contest between the BJP and the alliance between the two NCP factions. The election department also set up eight model polling stations, one in each ward, for awareness about environmental protection and green initiatives.“They were created for awareness among voters about the environment,” Shravan Hardikar, election officer and municipal commissioner, said, adding that voters can use an online facility on the PCMC website to check their names on the electoral roll and locate their polling stations.Sumit Dhage of Punawale Residents’ Forum said the area saw a sharp rise in voters since the 2017 polls. “We are using local WhatsApp groups of housing societies and citizen forums to explain the voting process, as many don’t know the process,” he said.
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