Maharashtra elections 2024: These Mumbaikars drove back 680 km to vote today, will you go 2 km?

Mumbai residents, who set out from Banaskantha district in Gujarat on Tuesday to exercise their franchise today

A group of 250 Mumbaikars, who had left the city to attend weddings in their respective villages in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, will be travelling approximately 680 km for 18 to 20 hours in four buses to cast their votes in Mumbai. After exercising their franchise, they plan to return to the festivities in the neighbouring state. The group said voting was a top priority and they were committed to helping usher in development and a better future for all.

The travellers originally hail from the villages of Saripada, Palanpur, Mesar, Katra, Dalwada, Gadh, Madana, Sasa and Salse in Banaskantha district but live in Malad, Borivli, Goregaon, Kandivli and Ghatkopar. The buses were organised by their community in a bid to highlight their clan's commitment to voting. The vehicles will ferry the voters back to their villages on the evening of November 20. Group members said they are looking to set an example for those who skip voting, citing the length of trips to booths and parking issues.

Dinesh Ramjibhai Patel, a Goregaon resident whose origins lie in Gadh, said, "I had been in my village for the past 10 days attending relatives' wedding celebrations. Although many wedding bashes are still pending, voting is equally important. We left around 2 pm on November 19 and will reach Mumbai early on Wednesday. After voting, we will return to the village in the same bus to attend the remaining functions."

The Mumbai residents had gone to Gujarat's Banaskantha district to attend their relatives' weddings

Manish Patel, another Goregaon resident, who hails from Mesar, added, "We vote every year, but this time, many relatives' weddings were scheduled for after Diwali. Some members of our community from Goregaon and Malad arranged these buses for us. We are on our way to Mumbai to cast our votes because we want development and a good government. It is our responsibility to vote."

Kamraj S Patel, a resident of Siddharth Nagar in Goregaon who hails from Mesar, stated, "We want to set an example for those who make excuses to avoid voting. We are concerned about the betterment of Maharashtra. After voting, we will return [to Mesar] via the same bus."

Affluent members pitched in

According to the group, just a week ago, the villagers discussed their concerns about not being around for the poll, which prompted affluent members of the community to pitch in by organising transportation for them. Some travellers even contributed voluntarily to make the trip to Mumbai a possibility.

Harshad Patel, a Goregaon resident who hails from Madana, said, "After Diwali, we stayed in our village to attend wedding functions. However, we don't want to waste our votes. We are responsible citizens, after all. We want a government that will improve roads and infrastructure and bring about overall development."

2 KM
Polling principle says no citizen should have to travel more than two kilometres to cast their vote

10,117
Total no. of polling booths in Mumbai for 1.02 crore registered voters

76
No. of ‘critical booths', which have historically registered an average turnout of less than 10%

18 to 20 hrs
Time it takes to travel from Banaskantha district to Mumbai