Bangalore may witness higher voter turnout this Lok Sabha election

Bangalore, April 16: Bangalore has always remained poor in comparison to the rest of

when it comes to voter turnout.

The reason being told that the urban middle class are alienated from the political process, according to The Hindu. The percentage of polling in other metropolitan cities of the country during the past elections has been no different except during the last two polls in Delhi when there was an increase in the polling percentage, and that has been attributed to the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the scene.

But social scientists have predicted that the gradual increase in voter turnout in Bangalore over the last three elections has spurred hopes of a possible increase in the voter turnout in the city on April 17.

Poll percentage in Bangalore urban, which was 49.87 in 2008 Assembly polls and 45.81 in 2009 Lok Sabha polls, went up to 57.38 in the Assembly polls in May 2103.

Political scientist and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Jain University Sandeep Shastri said the "increased visibility" of the campaigns carried out to encourage people to exercise their franchise by citizen groups, the Election Commission and the government agencies had helped "sensitise" the electorate that their "vote matters", particularly for the younger voters concerned about their future.

Prof. Shastri also sees "a change of heart" among the urban voters with the introduction of NOTA (None of the Above) in the electronic voting machines to reject all the candidates in the fray.

OneIndia News