Patna soaks in carnival of democracy

PATNA: Roads and markets in the city wore a deserted look as polling in two constituencies in the district – Patna Sahib and Pataliputra – passed off peacefully on Sunday. Private city buses and autorickshaws remained off the roads. However, the city buses run by Bihar State Road Transport Corporation operated as usual.

Commuters faced inconvenience due to lack of public transport. One such commuter, Manisha Verma (38), said she faced difficulties in reaching the city airport to catch a flight for Hyderabad. “Had my relatives not dropped me to the airport, I would have missed the flight,” Verma, who had come to Patna with her daughter Mayurika Verma to attend a wedding, said.

A first time voter in Patna on Sunday

Asharam Singh, chief security officer at a prominent mall in Pataliputra locality, said the mall was closed on Sunday to enable the employees to exercise their franchise. “More than 2,500 people work here. Since voting is their right, the mall authorities decided to keep the shutters down,” Singh added.

Ankur Chopra, marketing manager of another mall on Fraser Road, said the mall opened after the conclusion of the polling process at 6pm. Though some roadside eateries opened their stalls in the afternoon, they hardly received customers.

Some food outlets and showrooms, which opened in the evening, offered discounts to customers after they showed their inked fingers.

However, low polling percentage in Patna Sahib constituency came as a shocker to many. “Scorching heat forced people to remain indoors,” said Gopal Shankar Prasad, a retired IAS officer.

The polling percentage in Patna Sahib plunged from 45.37% in 2009 to 43.54% this time. The Pataliputra constituency, however, registered a voter turnout of 57.26%.

Political analysts attributed the lower voter turnout in the city to lack of interest among the urban voters.

D M Diwakar, head of economics department at A N Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, said the Patna Sahib constituency is mostly inhabited by urban middle class families, who don’t show much interest in coming out of their homes for casting vote. “Voters in urban constituencies like Patna Sahib don’t like standing in queues under the sun,” he added.

Those who exercised their franchise at near-deserted polling booths in Patna Sahib were unhappy with lack of enthusiasm shown by the voters. Satish Verma of Kumhrar, who voted along with 10 other members of his family, said, “People talk a lot about poll equations, but sit back and relax at home on the polling day.”

Shefali Roy, head of political science department at Patna University , said, “Patna Sahib is primarily dominated by influential business class people, who skip voting due to lack of political consciousness. They treat polling day as a holiday. Rural voters, on the other hand, treat the polling day as a festival turn up in large numbers at the polling booths.”