‘Voting Festival’ in Bengaluru city to up turnout  

BENGALURU: District Election Officer and Chief Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tushar Girinath on Saturday said that the low turnout which has become a trend in the last two elections should be changed.

Speaking at the launch of the Voting Festival in Church Street on Saturday, organised by the Election Commission, Girinath said that the trend can be reversed only if everyone participates and votes. In a democracy, he said, the primary duty of every citizen is to exercise their right to vote. He pointed out that more than one lakh new voters have registered, and they will be exercising their franchise in the upcoming assembly elections, which is a record. 

Also, 4,000 electoral literacy clubs have been started in colleges to create awareness about voting. He said that to attract young voters, brand ambassadors have been appointed to encourage them to take part in the exercise, and steps have been taken to prepare a list of those who have attained the age of 18 from the colleges and include their names in the electoral roll. 

City Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy, who attended the event,  said that Bengaluru is a global city and the target of maximum voter registration has to be achieved. Voter turnout in the city has been low and the voting festival would improve the rate. 

The youth were also requested to encourage their neighbours to exercise their right to vote. People are being made aware about voting through various programmes like bike rally, Yakshagana and flash mob which were organised on Church Street on Saturday. City District Collector KA Dayananda, Additional Chief Returning Officer Rajendra Cholan and Special Returning Officer AV Suryasen were also present on the occasion.