Strong room at SVNIT in Surat
Surat: This year the voter turnout for the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) was higher at 45.51% compared to around 40% in the last election. But going by the population numbers, only 22% of the city’s population voted on Sunday. Considering the city’s estimated population of around 70 lakh less than half 32.88 lakh are registered voters and of them, 15.50 lakh have exercised their franchise.
In 2015, 26.54 lakh voters were registered of which 10.60 lakh had voted. Though there is a rise in numbers of registered voters and total polling, experts say that an entire section of society is being kept out of the democratic process. The voice of a larger part of the population is not being heard in the electoral process. “The estimated population of the city is nearly 70 lakh and it is growing fast. At this juncture with just 22% of the population voting, it becomes a serious issue,” said Kiran Desai, director of Centre for Social Studies (CSS).