Many corporate biggies fail to turn up for the polls

Business tycoons like Ratan Tata, N Chandrasekaran, the Ambani brothers, Sajjan Jindal and so on were conspicuous by their absence at the polling booths for Assembly elections that recorded 63 percent turnout on Monday.

Their spokespersons said these leaders had unavoidable prior commitments, forcing them to stay out of the city on the important day. The island city alone sends as many as 38 legislators to the 288-member house.

Those who did cast their votes included Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra, HDFC chief executive Keki Mistry, Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala, and M&M managing director Pawan Goenka who also appealed to citizens to cast exercise their domestic right.


The polls saw a voter turnout of around 63 percent, almost matching the 63.38 percent polling recorded in the last elections held in 2014.

According to official sources, Tata and Chandrasekaran and Jindal were not in town.

Jindal, however, took to Twitter to appeal to voters to exercise their rights saying, "I urge each and every one of you to exercise your duty towards our democracy."

The Ambani brother Mukesh and Anil, who normally come out with their families on the polling day, did not cast their votes this time around. Why they did not make it this time around is not known yet.

After casting his vote, Mahindra tweeted: "Casting your vote is one of the most empowering experiences in life. And it's the privilege of living in a democracy-a privilege we often take for granted."

As many as 3,237 candidates, including 235 women, are in the fray for the 288-member house. Their fate will be known on October 24. Due to the polls, major markets like equities, currency and debt were shut.