Experts debate on low urban voter turnout in elections

HYDERABAD:To deep dive into the psyche of an ‘Urban Voter’, a round table meeting was organised by Foundation for Futuristic Cities and the Institution of Engineers at its office in Khairatabad on Monday. Senior professionals from all walks of life took part in the discussion.

The concept revolved around the topic “Why don’t a majority of the urban crowd vote? What will make them vote?’ Futuristic Cities President Karuna Gopal took the example of the recent Karnataka assembly elections, where urban voter turnout was low. As a part of their discussion, professionals explored the major difficulties faced by a voter, like not having a voter card, having to travel long distances on a working day, names being removed from electoral rolls, etc. Karuna Gopal said, “Cosmetic solutions for complex issues wouldn’t fetch any benefits to the public. Know Your Candidate, transparency of political leaders, using fine arts as a medium to pull the urban crowd to vote can be used in the short term to improve voter turnout.”

“Revamping the education system, creating urban manifestos, talking about unsung heroes of our nation can create a ray of hope to the younger generations. Also, a citizen who doesn’t vote has no right to have a say on the government,” she pointed out. The panel finally concluded that a true representative government will result only if all urban voters match the zeal of their rural counterparts in casting their votes.