New Delhi, Apr 12 (KNN) The first of seven phases of the 17th general elections  kicked off yesterday across 20 states and Union Territories.

Muzaffarnagar witnessed almost 80% to 85% of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) voters in 2019 general elections, according to the Indian Industries Association (IIA) Chapter Chief of Muzaffarnagar Kush Puri.

While talking to KNN India, Kush Puri said that MSME voters of the city have full faith in the government and are hopeful that government will stick to its propaganda of development.

Speaking about the demand of voters from the government he said, “All the voters want the development of infrastructure in the city so that the industry can get a stronger base for growth.”

“MSME voters particularly demand reduce in all the taxes so that they can develop with lesser burden,” he added.

Highlighting the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Puri said, “Another major issue that needs to be resolve is of GST. GST should be further simplified so that MSMEs can take its full advantage.”

A total of 91 Lok Sabha seats (nearly 17 per cent of the overall Lok Sabha seats) took part in the 2019 Lok Sabha election Phase 1.

Another city which has undergone first phase of elections yesterday was Meerut which witnessed around 75% to 80% of MSME voters.

The percentage was provided by IIA Chapter Chief of Meerut, Atul Bhushan Gupta while talking to KNN India.

Speaking about the loopholes of various schemes of the government he said, “All the schemes like Startup India or Make in India should be implemented in a more systematic way.”

Adding to the above statement he said, “If we talk about Industrial Summit, it was organized really well but nothing further happened. There were no further guidelines provided for industries.”

Demanding implementation of schemes for MSMEs Gupta said, “So the voters demand for practical implementation of all the good initiatives taken by the government for MSMEs and other industries.”

Similarly talking about GST, he said that the base has been made strong and now it is time to build a systematic building.

Gupta while appreciating the move of the government said, “Industry of Meerut have no problem with GST, we also appreciate all the simplifications done by the government in it.”

Sharing his expectations related to startups Gupat said, “All those who want to start a business in the city should be provided with all the required infrastructure, finance and guidance for their skill development.”

The first phase of polling has concluded successfully. The first phase polling, which had 13.97 crore electors, remained peaceful barring some places. (KNN/JM)