Residents of Padshahibagh area here on city outskirts boycotted the municipal polls today.
A polling booth established two kilometers away from area didn’t receive a single vote.
“Not a single voter turned up since morning. There are three candidates contesting for this area. One is BJP candidate, another Congress and third is independent,” said one of poll staffers deputed at the polling booth.
The two booths for Padshahibagh area set-up inside a private school building near Rambagh had no polling agents from the three candidates. “We stayed away from the polls,” said a group of residents. The area observed shutdown on the call of Joint Resistance Leadership.
Other residents said they were unaware about the polling date. “Are you sure this area is going to polls today? We have neither received any voter slips nor any candidate has approached us to seek our votes,” said Muhammad Subhan, a local.
The road from Padshahibagh to Rambagh wore a deserted look. Government forces were deployed in strength in the area as a precautionary measure.
On the other side, the polling staff was sitting idle as people preferred to boycott the polls. In the same school at Rambagh, some polling booths for Mehjoor Nagar were set-up. “Around forty votes were cast here in early morning,” said a poll staffer.