Elections 2019: Mumbai beats Pune in terms of voter turnout

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Mumbai may have registered an unimpressive voting percentage Monday, but its residents can take solace from at least one thing -- they outdid Pune. Against 49.84 per cent turnout in Pune on April 23, Mumbai registered a marginally better 51.11 per cent voting Monday.

The rivalry between Mumbai, the biggest city of Maharashtra, and Pune, the state's 'cultural capital', is old. "Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai", a hit Marathi rom-com with two sequels, exploits popular tropes about cultural differences between the two cities. It played out on social media during the ongoing polls, with some Mumbaikars -- as residents of Mumbai are called -- resolving to do better than Pune.

Girish Kuber, senior journalist, tweeted Monday morning: "Hope #Mumbai beats #Pune on this front too." Mumbaikars, who take pride in the city's 24X7 fast-paced lifestyle, often take jibes at Pune's lethargic ways.

"Had it been called 'mat-pradarshan' (expression of opinion) instead of 'mat-daan' (giving vote), more people would have turned out in Pune," went one joke, punning on the word 'mat' which in Marathi means both vote and opinion. For, people of Pune love nothing more than airing opinion on everything under the sun.

In any case, there can not be two opinions about the fact that Mumbaikars beat Punekars during this election.

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