Why only 54% of Bengaluru turned up to vote

BENGALURU: Around 20 residents of Gavipura in south Bengaluru failed to vote on Thursday as they waited for the EVMs to be brought to their homes. A few days ago, local leaders arrived in the area, dominated by poor families who eke out a living as domestic helps and labourers, promised them Rs 1,000 per vote and told them the EVM would be brought to them and they should not venture out to vote. “My neighbours scolded me for voting in the booth. Many of them waited till 7pm thinking someone would turn up with the machines and money,” said Lakshmamma (name changed).

These and many other stories made the rounds as India’s IT capital put in yet another poor show on voting day, logging a turnout of 54.1% — lower than the 56% recorded in 2014. Among the three seats in the city, Bengaluru South logged the lowest turnout, at 53.5%. This is former Union minister Ananth Kumar’s seat where BJP has fielded 28-year-old Tejaswi Surya. Bengaluru Rural polled the highest, at 68%. Bengaluru North — where Union minister Sadananda Gowda is pitted against state minister Krishna Byregowda — polled 54.6%.

The long weekend proved too hard to resist, say authorities. Voting day fell between two government holidays, Mahavir Jayanthi and Good Friday, and many filed out of the city long before voting day. Lost votes are another reason. Bengalureans move town and home for work and college and few manage to update their addresses. This time around, missing names and random deletion of voters’ names was also a major issue.