Ludhiana: A punishing heatwave across Punjab severely depressed voter turnout for Tuesday’s municipal elections, with participation tumbling nearly 10 percentage points from the last local polls.Final data reveals that only 64.82% of eligible voters cast ballots across the six contested municipal councils in the Ludhiana district, a sharp decline from the 73.82% turnout recorded during the 2021 elections.Despite the scorching temperatures, elderly citizens turned out in significant numbers, often braving the heat to demand basic infrastructure improvements. Among them was 95-year-old Gurdev Kaur, the widow of freedom fighter Naginder Singh Sidhu, who cast her ballot at Jagraon’s School of Eminence.“Our ward completely lacks development,” Gurdev Kaur said, citing broken roads, severe waterlogging, and unmanaged garbage piles. “I came to vote today with the hope that things will improve at last.”Her frustrations were echoed by 80-year-old Jagraon resident Gurdayal Singh, who said he had voted specifically to elect a representative willing to fix chronic drainage failures.The heat also failed to deter first-time voters, though their local grievances were remarkably similar to those of the older generation. Bhupinderjeet Singh, 20, cast his first ballot at the Raikot Market Committee office, noting that a nearby pond regularly overflows into local homes.“Water enters our houses, and we barely have any functioning streetlights,” the young voter said. “Those are the real issues for us.”Accessibility Disputes at the BoothsIn Samrala’s Ward 10, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Jaspreet Singh alleged a total absence of basic facilities for vulnerable voters, claiming he had to physically carry elderly citizens into the polling station due to a lack of available wheelchairs.The presiding duty magistrate rejected the claims, asserting that drinking water had been provided and wheelchairs stored safely inside the venue. “We have been trying to ensure that no voter faces an issue, and we will sort out any specific complaints,” the official said.
