The diminishing voter turnout all over the country has alarmed the political parties even though a marginal improvement in the percent has been claimed by the Election Commission (EC). Various arguments have been flying thick and fast. Besides political parties, those joining the debate include observers, analysts and the elements which are indirectly participating in the biggest festival of democracy. Of course, each attributes different reasons for the less enthusiastic participation of the common citizen, whose fate largely depends upon the outcome of the election.
For instance, the voter turnout for the 18th Lok Sabha election in the first and perhaps the most crucial phase of polling on April 19 was about four percent lesser than for the same 102 parliamentary constituencies in the previous LS election, held in 2019. This has happened in spite of the EC’s optimistic promise that the increase in the polling percent will be possible due to the use of information technology whereby updating the electoral rolls and vigorous voter awareness campaigns had been undertaken.
In Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, voters’ queues outside almost all polling stations under the scorching heat were seen on 20 May, the last day of polling in the state. Political allegations and counter-charges have been made by several prominent leaders. The EC and state election department are yet to respond.
Consider the first phase of polling in the country. Over 16 crore eligible voters were expected to exercise their right to choose the next government. But just over 65 percent came out to vote. The corresponding figure was around 70 percent in 2019 in these constituencies. According to the EC, the voting percent declined in 19 of the 21 states and Union territories where polling was held that day. These included Tamil Nadu in south and Uttarakhand in north, marking the end of voting for all the Lok Sabha seats. In Tamil Nadu, the decrease was of about three percent whereas it was over five percent in Uttarakhand. On the same day, in Rajasthan, 12 of the 25 LS constituencies went to the polls. There, the decrease was of about six percent. A lesser number of voters in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar turned out in the first phase of polls for electing their representatives in 120 seats out of 543 LS in the lower house of parliament.
In Mumbai, the Maharashtra election authorities had recorded the lowest voter turnout at 53 percent at the end of polling on 20 May. Mumbai South LS constituency had reported the lowest turnout. This and similar reports led to the charges that the “slow pace” of voting process in several parts of Mumbai had been engineered. Though no names were taken, the object of the attack was obvious. In the larger context, the charges were parroted by several opposition leaders elsewhere. Mumbai’s all six LS seats — Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central – witnessed sluggish pace of polling. The metropolis witnessed a supercharged contest. In Maharashtra, many prestigious fights have taken place. Expectedly, both sides are claiming a win. The picture will be clear on 4 June.
All through the campaigning and voting, one fact is undisputable. While the intense and persistent efforts by the EC to bring out the voters through sustained campaigns and role-models were laudable, the political parties failed to discharge their responsibility of complementing these initiatives. It is easy to blame voter apathy but what is a matter of concern is the inability of the major players in the electoral process to involve the man on the street in this fundamental duty.
The picture is yet not fully clear although the Supreme Court has now taken cognisance of the statistics of voter turnout and the delay by the EC to come out with authentic figures. Actually, the issue of voter turnout data has caused a flurry of allegations. It may be noted that many political leaders have raised questions about the revised figures and their delayed validation by the EC after the first two phases of polling. The acrimony has generated a huge controversy. The Association of Democratic Reforms, a known NGO, has approached the SC and some initial directions have been issued by the court to the EC.
So far, in the states where voting is over, the BJP is hopeful of substantial gains are these are its strongholds, as witnessed in the 2019 elections. In one of the states, the BJP had won all 26 seats. This was in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. This time, the BJP was upbeat after its candidate was declared an unopposed winner from Surat constituency. Maharashtra was another state, where the then BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had won 41 seats out of 48.
News reports are aplenty that the Congress-led INDIA bloc, including the Aam Aadmi Party, has made this contest a tough fight in a large number of of seats. The BJP has pinned its hopes on PM Narendra Modi. Fringe parties in some pockets are trying their best to tilt the outcome.
Coming back to the low voter turnout, the intense heatwave is cited as the main reason for voters’ reluctance to join the queues and spend a long time, awaiting the individual’s turn. The other annoying factor is the missing names from the voter lists. Sensing the adverse effect of the heat wave, Following Phase 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) rose ot the occasion. For the first time, IMD kept on informing the nation through tis heatwave forecasts for the next phases of the election, but to little effect. As is common in our country, several experts surfaced to blame the heatwave and infer that it would be one of the contributing factors to benefit the BJP or that it would dethrone the ruling NDA.
Expectedly, all eyes are on the outcome of 4 June. However, different exit polls will be out in the evening of 1 June and political speculation will intensify from that moment. The voter hardships will be forgotten, by the election machinery and by the voters themselves. The issue will become live only at the time of the next election.
A Column By
Dilip Chaware – Senior Editor
A media professional for 43 years, with extensive experience of writing on
a variety of subjects; he is also a documentary producer and book author.
