Aapji Jadhav (40), a watchman injured during the terror attack at Cama Hospital on November 26, 2008, has not given up on the system. On Tuesday, he went to his hometown Satara just so that he could vote.

“We all want stable governance. But if you don’t vote, how will you be part of the change?” said Jadhav, who spent five months in hospital after 26/11. He felt the attacks had turned the spotlight firmly on Mumbai, while Maharashtra’s interiors were being ignored.

Another survivor, Shajaan Ahmed (43), who was injured at Nariman House, recalls that fateful night as a failure of the government. “The attacks were a clear sign of political and security lapses. I hope that the new government will change things,” he said, adding that security wasn’t the only issue this election. “Unemployment, price hike and the deteriorating quality of life need equal attention.”

Sonali Gupta’s death at the Trident was a catalyst for her father Mohan Gupta (48) to vote for the first time ever. After casting his vote at Gamdevi, he said the attacks were a wake-up call to those who thought terror could never come home. “If you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain,” he asserted..

Colaba-based 26/11 victim Sanjay Katar (23) and his family were among those who did not vote. Katar, who was injured in a grenade blast near Nariman House, was too disillusioned to exercise his right. “Many politicians met me after the attack, but none of them helped when I needed a job closer home,” said Katar, who worked night shifts at a call centre at Vashi.

After the attacks, the public outrage forced then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his deputy RR Patil to resign. But on Tuesday, the polling booth near Nariman House, where commandos had battled terrorists for over 54 hours, was pretty deserted.

Danmantiben Gohil (26), who lived in the building next to Nariman House and lost her husband in attack, said: “I didn’t vote because nothing will change.”