Why Bengaluru Recorded the Lowest Voter Turnout in Karnataka| 3 Points

Bengaluru: Bengaluru recorded the voter turnout of 53 percent this year, lowest as compared to the last two general elections conducted in 2019 and 2014.  Bengaluru voter turnout in 2019 LS elections was 54.1 percent, while in 2014 it was 56 percent, as per Election Commission of India. 

Meanwhile, voter turnout in Karnataka was recorded at 69.2 percent across 14 constituencies in Lok Sabha polls on April 26. The state average of was brought down by lower voter turnout in Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena had expressed hopes for 72 percent turnout in Karnataka and at least 60 percent in Bengaluru, as per ECI. 
 

The three Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka capital - Bengaluru Central (52.8 percent), South (53.1 percent) and North (54.4 percent) were in bottom three in terms of turnout. Many restaurants and pubs offered dosa, beer, and even free taxi rides to encourage the over 1 crore voters in the southern state capital. 
 

Voter Turnout in 2019 & 2014

In the 2019 LS elections, Bengaluru North,  Central, and South had clocked turnouts of 54.7, 54.3, and 53.7 percent, respectively, compared to the state average of 68.8 percent.

Voter turnout during the 2014 general elections was higher: Bangalore North, Central, and South constituencies had turnouts of 56.5, 55.6, and 55.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the adjoining areas of Bengaluru Rural witnessed a 67.2 percent turnout (66.4 percent in 2014 and 64.9 percent in 2019) and Chikkaballapur recorded   76.8 percent voting (76.2 percent in 2014 and 76.7 percent in 2019). 

Reasons Behind Lower Voter Turnout in Bengaluru

Polling day on weekend

People working in the tech sector work from office from Tuesday to Thursday and leave Bengaluru on Fridays for their hometown or weekend breaks. People who have migrated to Bengaluru from far off places have gone back to their hometowns due water scarcity and are doing work from home. The Election Commission of India announced a paid holiday for all employees on voting day, however, some chose to amalgamate it with their weekly offs and go off on a short and quick vacation. 

Migration and botched-up electoral rolls 

One of the reasons for the low turnout is inconsistency in the electoral rolls. Cosmopolitan cities like Bengaluru witnesses high levels of internal migration. Many people leave Bengaluru to go to other countries for jobs and studies. Many people move within the city or other parts of the country for colleges, jobs, purchasing apartments, etc without updating voter registration, as per media reports. 

There are many people who would want to vote in their hometowns despite being registered in the electoral rolls of Bengaluru. The failure to remove the names of deceased voters from the electoral rolls is another reason for the low turnout figures. Some voters were unable to cast their votes on April 26 due to their names not present in the list. Dual Voter registration is also expected to be a major reason for lower voter turnout.
 

Heatwave

On April 26, the voting day, Bengaluru city recorded a maximum temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees higher than normal. Blistering heat in the city demotivated  many from going out to polling stations to cast their votes, as per IMD. 

Election Commission's efforts to make voting process more accessible  

The Voter Helpline and 'Know Your Candidate' apps were part of the drive to ease the voting process. The Election Commission also enhanced facilities at polling stations in urban constituencies, based on reviews from surveys organized in areas with historically low voter turnout in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and previous Lok Sabha elections.

Despite these initiatives aimed to make voting more accessible and effective and addressing some of the major concerns that had previously discouraged voter participation, Bengaluru recorded a low voter turnout.