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BENGALURU: With the city scheduled to vote on a Friday (April 26), the biggest fear of the election authorities is: Will Bengalureans ditch voting for a long weekend vacation? Going by the voter turnout in Bengaluru during elections, both Election Commission honchos and BBMP officials have started brainstorming on measures to be taken to get citizens, especially young working professionals, to the polling stations on the most crucial day of the poll process.
“Nearly half of Bengaluru voters display apathy by not participating in the voting process, that should not be happening this time too,” said a senior EC official. In fact, several polling booths in Bengaluru have recorded less than 30-35% turnout of voters previously. While Bengaluru recorded 56% turnout in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the percentage slumped to 54.5 in 2019. Efforts are being made to take the turnout beyond 60%.
Interestingly, the total number of voters in the three parliamentary constituencies — Bangalore South, Bangalore North, and Bangalore Central — have gone up by 8.5% this time from 2019. BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said: “We’ll ensure that every household is aware of the elections and knows how to obtain voter ID cards.
Special efforts will be made in Whitefield, Sarjapur, Mahadevapura and Bellandur to ensure higher voter participation. This apart, we’ll engage with establishment owners and garment factories to facilitate voter registration and provide voting day holiday.”
On the probability of being successful, Giri Nath added, “We’re doing everything in our ability to get them to vote, the only thing left would be for us to physically go and wake them up, which we’re willing to do if needed.”
“Nearly half of Bengaluru voters display apathy by not participating in the voting process, that should not be happening this time too,” said a senior EC official. In fact, several polling booths in Bengaluru have recorded less than 30-35% turnout of voters previously. While Bengaluru recorded 56% turnout in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the percentage slumped to 54.5 in 2019. Efforts are being made to take the turnout beyond 60%.
Interestingly, the total number of voters in the three parliamentary constituencies — Bangalore South, Bangalore North, and Bangalore Central — have gone up by 8.5% this time from 2019. BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said: “We’ll ensure that every household is aware of the elections and knows how to obtain voter ID cards.
Special efforts will be made in Whitefield, Sarjapur, Mahadevapura and Bellandur to ensure higher voter participation. This apart, we’ll engage with establishment owners and garment factories to facilitate voter registration and provide voting day holiday.”
On the probability of being successful, Giri Nath added, “We’re doing everything in our ability to get them to vote, the only thing left would be for us to physically go and wake them up, which we’re willing to do if needed.”
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