LS polls, phase 2: Elderly among first to vote as polling begins in Noida

Senior citizens dominated the early hours of voting in Noida in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency as polling began here Friday morning in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.

The queues were short and many booths reported brisk voting in the first hour, according to some of the electors.

District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, who is also the District Election Officer, joined the early voters to exercise his democratic right.

"I am also excited like other voters. I appeal to residents to exercise their right and cast votes in large numbers. I hope this time we will have better voter turnout than the last time," Verma said after casting his vote at Cambridge school in Sector 27.

Ashok Verma (66), who was among the early voters in Noida, said, "It was a good experience. It hardly took 10 minutes to complete the process," the local resident said.

A total of 15 candidates are in the fray for the Gautam Buddha Nagar seat, with over 26.75 lakh people eligible to decide their fate.

City couple Manoj and Sujata were accompanied by their 8-year-old son Sharav to the polling booth.

"We have brought him along to show him the polling process so that he, too, participates in voting in future," Manoj said.

Senior citizen B K Jain said there was cleanliness at the Cambridge school booth and the queue was short, making the process easy for him.

The posh Sector of 15A was also abuzz with voters, especially senior citizens, since the early hours.

"It's my democratic right and I must exercise it. That's the most essential part. Come out for your issues and make your government," said Manju Oberoi.

Her husband Upjive Oberoi said the polling process was quick and smooth, as he walked out of the booth within 10 minutes.

Among the most posh sectors of the city, the residents' welfare association (RWA) in Sector 15A made arrangements for electric vehicles to ferry voters to and from the polling booth.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency is spread across assembly segments of Noida, Dadri, Jewar, Khurja and Sikandrabad. Of these, Sikandrabad and Khujra geographically fall in the adjoining Bulandshahr district but are part of Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency.

The constituency has over 2.67 million voters this year.

It had recorded a voter turnout of 60.47 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, 60.38 per cent in 2014 and an abysmal 48 per cent in 2009, according to Election Commission statistics.

The constituency has consistently recorded voter turnout lower than the national average of 67.40 per cent in 2019, 66 per cent in 2014 and 58 per cent in 2009, the data showed.