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Mumbai’s Dharavi, Mumbadevi, and Shivadi seats saw the highest voter participation in Wednesday’s Maharashtra elections since 2009. Even as Mumbai City (52.07%) and Mumbai Suburban (55.77%) recorded lower turnouts than the state average, most of the seats reported better voter participation than in 2019
In Mumbai City, Colaba (44.49%), Dharavi (49.70%), and Mumbadevi (48.76%) were the only seats with voter turnouts below 50%. Further, all the 10 assembly constituencies in Mumbai City saw higher turnouts than in 2019 in the range of one percentage point to close to six. Representational image/X
All 10 assembly seats in Mumbai City reported higher voter turnouts in Wednesday’s Maharashtra elections than in 2019. But three of these—Dharavi, Mumbadevi, and Shivadi—have seen the highest voter participation this time since 2009, similar to the average performance of the state, official data analysed by News18 shows.
Participation of voters in elections is a very important aspect of the festival of democracy, and the Election Commission of India has been trying hard to fight urban apathy in bigger cities. In terms of voter turnout, Mumbai had been a challenge for the ECI.
The final voter turnout of the state this time stood at 65.11%—also the highest in the last six elections at least. Even as Mumbai City (52.07%) and Mumbai Suburban (55.77%) recorded lower turnouts than the state average, most of the seats reported better voter participation than in 2019. None of the 26 assembly seats in Mumbai Suburban saw turnouts below 50%, the analysis shows
In Mumbai City, Colaba (44.49%), Dharavi (49.70%), and Mumbadevi (48.76%) were the only seats with voter turnouts below 50%. Further, all the 10 assembly constituencies in Mumbai City saw higher turnouts than in 2019 in the range of one percentage point to close to six.
The Malabar Hill seat, with a 52.53% turnout, registered the biggest improvement in voter participation from 2019 (46.99%) among all the seats in Mumbai City.
Mahim with a 58% voter turnout has not just emerged as the seat with higher voter turnout this time in Mumbai, but it also reported a significant improvement from 2019 (52.67%).
It is important to note that while the voter turnouts in most of the seats in Mumbai were exceptionally low in 2019, the numbers from 2014 were better. Most of the seats in 2024 failed to touch the record as they registered better voter participation in 2014. But Dharavi (49.78%), Mumbadevi (48.76%), and Shivadi (54.42%) surpassed all the previous turnout figures this time since 2009.
Colaba remains a challenge despite better performance
Following a pattern since 2009, Colaba registered the lowest voter turnout in 2024 among the seats in Mumbai. The voter participation in the seat though improved by about five percentage points from 2019.
The pricey Mumbai pocket had a turnout of around 40% in the 2019 assembly elections which improved to close to 45% this time.
The improvement, said a poll body official, was a result of several targeted efforts in the seat. On November 12, a meeting was hosted by the Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CPRA) at the Bayview Marina Garden at Cuffe Parade, where locals met the additional chief electoral officer and a lot of discussions took place.
“There was a concerted push to up these numbers (turnouts) for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls. In the meeting, the reasons behind the low voting percentage were discussed in detail, and many solutions were also proposed. Colaba constituency has many residents serving in the Indian navy. A meeting was called at the office of the chief electoral officer with the officers of the Indian navy to discuss the issue of low voter turnout, which ultimately resulted in a plan of joint efforts. The officers present from the Indian navy proactively offered to issue circulars and appeal to the voters residing in naval residential areas to cast their vote,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
Further, it was also decided to jointly conduct door-to-door visits with the help of volunteers so that electors residing there would step out to vote.
‘Dedicated efforts’ paid off
The overall improvement in voter turnout in the state, as per an ECI official, was a result of dedicated efforts. The poll body continuously emphasised that each and every voter should be touched in awareness campaigns, and there should be all sorts of facilities for the voters.
Various measures were adopted by the poll body on the directions from Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Close to 1,200 polling stations were set up in high-rise buildings and urban societies to take the booths closer to the people. There was a strict order for ensuring all basic facilities at polling stations including benches for voters in queues, water, and toilets.
A grand programme was organised on November 8 at the Gateway of India that proved a robust starting point for a statewide campaign for voter awareness, featuring the presence of Bollywood and Marathi film industry celebrities apart from high-level officials from the ECI.
On November 16, the Mumbai City collector organised a discussion programme specially for families of the officers of the Indian navy on voting, which received an enthusiastic response.
“The election machinery was hopeful for a better voter turnout in the assembly elections. The improvement in turnout shows that the efforts have paid off,” the ECI official said.
The impact of the improved voter turnout on the results will be revealed on Saturday, when the votes will be counted.
