More men vote in Kasba; experts rue absence of women candidates in Pune

PUNE: Men outnumbered women in voter turnout in Kasba Peth bypoll on Sunday despite the number of registered women electors in the constituency being higher than men.

Nearly 54% of the total male voters (1,36,984) in the constituency exercised their right to vote in the Sunday's bypoll as against 46% of the total women voters (1,38,690). The turnout is in line with the 2019 assembly elections, when 55.92% of male voters had turned out to vote in the constituency as compared to 47.26% women voters.

The constituency was represented by MLA Mukta Tilak, and political observers said the absence of a woman candidate in the bypoll could have been the reason for lower women turnout.

Political observers said the bypoll turnout reflected the voters' apathy in urban areas, which even the high-voltage campaign failed to change. "The migration of voters and their general apathy impacted the overall turnout," said Prakash Pawar, a political expert and professor of political science.

Ambika Utkur and her husband Sudhir voted at a polling station in Bhavani Peth. Ambika said women should step out in large numbers to exercise their rights as they could play a vital role in the development of the city and the constituency. "Political parties must give more representation to women and implement measures to create awareness about voting," she said.

In 2019 assembly elections, there were a total of 2,90,724 voters in the constituency, including 1,44,160 men voters and 1,46,560 women voters. As many as 1,50,093 voters (including 201 postal ballots) had exercised their right to vote - 8,06,19 men voters and 69,272 women votes - then.