JOIN USUrban voters' apathy comes to fore again
Apathy of urban voters to elections was witnessed again during the byelections to the Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha constituencies on Wednesday.
Despite fairly good polling in Bangalore Rural (51.28 pc) and Mandya (58.28 pc), three urban Assembly segments under Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency recorded poor voter turnout. Mandya City Assembly segment also showed a similar trend, with only 50 per cent of the electorate casting their votes.
The fact that they would be electing their MP for just a few months as the term of the Lok Sabha ends in around nine months and, also they had voted in another election (for the Assembly) a couple of months ago, could have made the urban voters to keep away from the polling booths.
While the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency polled 32.38 pc, Bangalore South clocked a meagre 30.73 pc. Anekal, which still has some rural patches, fared slightly better with 40 pc of the voters exercising their franchise.
Many private firm employees did not turn up for voting. Despite the government order, many firms did not sanction leave to their employees, instead granted them permission for a couple of hours in the afternoon to cast their votes.
In Anekal, a Congress worker said that most people did not vote as they utilised the holiday to visit Bangalore city. Urban areas such as Uttarahalli, Yadalamnagar and Vasanthpura did not register more than 25 pc voting.
However, during the Assembly polls on May, these areas had witnessed good voter turn out, thanks to the campaigns by the Election Commission (EC) and civil society.
While Bangalore South had recorded 56.15 pc polling, it was 56.70 pc in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar polled and 69.74 pc in Anekal.
Mandya scenario
In Mandya, the Melkote Assembly segment registered the highest polling of 68.04 per cent and the Mandya City Assembly constituency recorded the lowest of 50.19 per cent. In Srirangapatna, Melkote, Mandya and Malavalli Assembly segments, women voters came out to vote in good numbers. Number of women voters who cast their votes was more in the Nagmangala constituency, which has more male voters.
Chief Election Officer (CEO) Anil Kumar Jha said apathy or the ‘unwanted’ byelections cannot be the reasons for poor voter turnout. “Barring two constituencies, all others have fared well. Ramanagara and Channapatna registered 70 pc polling. Even in small urban pockets such as K R Pet and other locations, the polling was brisk,” he said.