Concerning authorities is urbanites’ reluctance to cast a ballot

Election authorities are facing difficulties due to urban voters’ lack of excitement, which has been seen in previous elections.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, voters in the Solan Assembly segment not only had the lowest turnout (66.84%) in the district, but the pattern had also persisted in the 2017 Assembly poll.

Just 66.65% of voters cast ballots in the 2017 Assembly election, behind the district’s other four divisions.

In 2022, Solan’s voting percentage was 18.41% lower than that of the Doon Assembly segment, which led the district with 85.25% of the vote.

Election officials have noticed that reduced turnover occurs in segments with a higher proportion of urban voters. According to the 2011 census, Solan is one such area where the city has had the greatest growth rate in the state, at 57%.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Manmohan Sharma saw it as a serious matter and said, “We will launch a special campaign to reach out to the voters in Solan city.” It is disgusting to see that voters avoided carrying out their civic responsibility and were unwilling to cast their ballots.

Not only is there little public involvement in significant city-related problems, but there is also a perceived political gulf. Old hand Suresh Kumar said, “The other residents, apart from the political representatives, have little interest in politics or their representatives.”

They had little regard for the local legislators since migrants from the adjacent districts of Shimla and Sirmaur made up a sizable portion of the urban population in Solan.

He continued by saying that another factor contributing to this way of thinking is the people’ feeling of helplessness in the face of major issues such a lack of jobs, rising costs, a lack of public services, etc.