Billionaire industrialist Harsh Goenka has taken a dig at the city’s elite electorate. Amid concerns about low turnout at polling stations, particularly in urban centers including Mumbai, Goenka sparked a new debate around the “men and women of the Malabar Hills”. He argued that Mumbai’s elite may not bother to vote but prefer comfort. Over duty.
Voting for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra is currently underway on Wednesday, November 20. The process started at 7 am and citizens are expected to come out to cast their votes.
In a fiery late-night tweet, the RPG Group chairman wrote, “The men and women of Malabar Hill cannot vote today because… they are busy debating whether their driver will take a Mercedes or a BMW to the polling station.” He highlighted that he is likely to worry about getting his designer loafers dirty on uneven roads, struggling to match his Gucci sunglasses with his Manish Malhotra outfits and endless WhatsApp discussions about the right candidate over quinoa salad.
“It’s the horror that ordinary people face in queues, the fear of stepping out in the November heat and the realization that there is no valet parking at the polling station,” he added.
The men and women of Malabar Hill may not vote today because… they are busy debating whether their chauffeurs should take a Mercedes or a BMW to the polling station. The fear of getting his designer loafers dirty on those uneven roads, the struggle to match his Gucci sunglasses…— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) November 19, 2024
Taking a dig at weight loss concerns among celebrities, he quipped, “Democracy can wait, but waistlines can’t!”
Earlier in October, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar also revealed the low voter turnout during the elections. Blaming “urban apathy” for the lack of enthusiasm among voters, he highlighted it as a major concern for the election panel. Like the rest of Maharashtra, Mumbai also goes to polls on November 20.
It is worth mentioning that the city has faced many struggles due to low voter turnout. Earlier in the 2019 assembly elections, Mumbai recorded a voter turnout of 50.67 percent, slightly lower than in 2014. Before that, it struggled to even touch 50 percent.
Amid similar concerns of Goenka and the Paul panel, prominent figures like Karthik Aaryan, Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Paresh Rawal, Sharwari Vala, Sunil Shetty, Urmila Matondkar, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar and others came out to cast their votes. across the city.