The villagers boycotted the elections as a mark of protest over their unfulfilled demands from the government, said officials.
Gujarat Villages: Tuesday, May 7 was the phase 3 voting day for the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections. Voters across the designated constituencies exercised their rights but about one thousand voters from three villages in Gujarat boycotted voting while those in as many other villages partially stayed away from the process.
These voters boycotted the elections as a mark of protest over their unfulfilled demands from the government, said officials.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that as per the preliminary information, the voters of Kesar village in Bharuch district, Sanadhara in Surat district (under Bardoli Lok Sabha seat with 320 voters), and Bhakhari in Banaskantha district completely boycotted voting, while the voters at Bhatgam village in Junagadh district, and Bodoli and Kunjara villages in Mahisagar district boycotted it partially.
A report put forth by the Election Commission says that none of the 320 voters at Sanadhara cast their votes over certain outstanding issues even as the local poll administration and representatives of political parties tried to persuade them to come out and exercise their franchise.
In Bakhri village which falls under the Patan parliamentary constituency, around 300 voters decided to collectively boycott voting in protest against the division of their gram panchayat.
Despite persuasion, they remained persistent in their decision to not exercise their voting rights.
Even though the voting arrangements started in the early morning, the villagers did not turn up for voting even as polling officers kept waiting.
Villagers are aggrieved over the division of their gram panchayat, said the poll officials.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Bharatsinh Dabhi reached the village and requested them to join the poll process but to no avail.
Around 350 voters in Kesar village of Bharuch district also remained adamant on their decision to not cast their votes and by the end of the day not a single vote was cast.
This was not the first time that the voters had boycotted their votes. They have done so in the past as well, as their demands to build a bridge over a river have not been fulfilled by the government despite repeated reminders, locals said.
Gujarat voted for 25 out of the total 26 Lok Sabha seats in a single phase on Tuesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already won the Surat seat unopposed.
(With PTI inputs)
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