Turnout lame, but highest since 2001

 The turnout in Saturday’s Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections may have been disappointing but official figures show it was the highest among three elections held to the civic body since 2001.

As per the final statistics released by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday, the total percentage of voting in the polls was 49.31 with 36.13 lakh out of 78.43 lakh eligible Bengalureans casting their vote. This was much higher than the 44.04 per cent turnout in the first-ever BBMP elections held in 2010 and the 44.32 per cent in the 2001 polls held to the erstwhile Bangalore City Corporation.

Siddapura (ward No 144) in Chickpet Assembly constituency saw the highest turnout at 62.14 per cent, followed by Hemmigepura (ward No 198) in Yeshwantpur Assembly constituency at 59.40 per cent. Doddanekkundi (ward 85) in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency saw the lowest turnout at 37.80 per cent followed by Bellandur (ward 150), also in Mahadevapura constituency, at 39.57 per cent.

There wasn’t much difference in the number of men and women who turned up to vote. In this election, the names of 38,43,183 men and 34,84,283 women were included in the voter list, out of which 19,11,074 men (49.72 per cent) and 17,02,650 (48.86 per cent) women voted.

10 pc transgenders vote

Just 107 out of the 1,112 transgenders whose names were listed in the electoral rolls exercised their franchise. Horamavu has 39 registered transgenders; 16 of them voted. In the Peenya Industrial ward, not a single transgender voter out of the 55 listed in the electoral rolls turned up to vote. In Bapuji Nagar under the Vijayanagar constituency, only nine turned up out of the 54 voters. On the bright side, in Marappanapalya in the Mahalakshmi Layout constituency, the turnout was encouraging with 12 out of the 18 transgenders casting their vote.

Counting tomorrow

The counting of votes will begin at 8 am on August 25 in 27 Assembly-wise counting centres, according to a statement released by the SEC. As many as 304 Returning Officers, Additional Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers and about 3,180 counting personnel have been assigned for counting. The returning officer will start the counting of votes as per the ascending order of the ward numbers. Postal ballots will be counted first, followed by votes in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). For each Returning Officer, a returning officer table and a maximum of 14 counting tables will be assigned.

Turnout ‘disappointing’, says CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that more Bengalureans should have voted in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections.

In his first reaction to the voter turnout for the BBMP polls held on Saturday, Siddaramaiah said that citizens should play an active part in the electoral process in a democratic set up. “However, the turnout is better compared to 2010,” he said. The BBMP polls clocked a turn out of 49.31 per cent compared to 44.04 in 2010.

 High polling percentage

Name of     Assembly     Polling
the Ward    Constituency     Percentage
Siddapura (144)                      Chickpet    62.14
Hemmigepura (198)               Yeshwantpur     59.40
BSK Temple (180)         Padmanabhanagar    59.32
Chalavadi Palya (138)    Chamarajpet     58.11

 Low polling percentage

Name of     Assembly     Polling
the Ward    Constituency     Percentage
Doddanekkundi (85)    Mahadevapura      37.80
Bellandur (150)    Mahadevapura    39.57
Kammanahalli (28)    Sarvajnanagar       39.78

Transgender voters

Name of the Ward                       Registered     Voter
    Voters    Turnout    
Peenya Industrial Area (41)    55    Nil
Bapujinagar (134)                        54    09
Horamavu (25)    39    16  
Bellandur (150)    25    02

Jayamahal (63)    Shivajinagar       40.04