Slums witness high turnout...

Like always, slums across the city saw the maximum action and the highest voter turnout as most booths crossed the 30 per cent mark by 2 pm with three and a half hours of voting time left. According to past trends, the pace of voting in slums is known to fasten towards the end of the day. Polling agents and residents were of the opinion that the turnout in slums had improved, though not drastically.

Farid Sheikh, a resident of Cheetah Camp (ward 135), said voter turnout has been slightly better across the 38 polling booths in the ward and is expected to touch the 55 per cent mark. "In slum areas, the number of Independents and candidates from smaller parties in the fray are generally high in addition to the bigger parties' candidates. Our ward has 16 candidates. Thus, the canvassing is much higher and malpractices such as distributing money to buy votes are also higher," he said.

Presiding officer in polling station no 16, R More, said the voting crossed 25 per cent by 1.30 pm and was expected to pick up since the water supply hours were over by afternoon.

A number of groups were seen shouting their candidates' symbols and EVM number at the entrance of each polling station in a hope to change the voters' mind at the last minute. A supporter of the Samajwadi Party candidate Khairunissa Hussain kept shouting "Cycle, number 4" as rival NCP candidate Asma Sheikh's supporters shouted "Ghadyaal (clock), number 10".

Like Cheetah Camp, areas of Shivaji Nagar, Bainganwadi and Rafi Nagar slums in Govandi, which are massive slum pockets and big voter banks especially during MLA elections, long queues outside polling booths, in some cases extending to outside the main gate the polling station, were a common sight.

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