(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Almost half of Bengaluru's eligible voters did not show up to cast their votes during the Lok Sabha elections on Friday Karnataka's 14 constituencies, the Election Commission reported an estimated voter turnout of 69.23 per cent reported by PTI, however, the voter turnout in the three urban constituencies of Bangalore-Bangalore Central, Bangalore North, and Bangalore South-was notably lower than the overall state average. Despite the Election Commission's reported 69.23 per cent turnout across Karnataka's 14 constituencies, these three urban areas saw a smaller percentage of voters exercising their right to vote Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 'Real sportsman', Internet impressed as Rahul Dravid queue up to vote in BengaluruThe estimated voter turnout in Bangalore Central for this election was 52.81 per cent, in Bangalore North it was 54.42 per cent, and in Bangalore South, it was 53.15 per cent. Comparatively, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, voter turnout in Bangalore Central was 54.32 per cent, in Bangalore North it was 54.76 per cent, and in Bangalore South it was 53.70 per cent Commission officials expressed disappointment that voter apathy persisted, despite their extensive efforts to boost participation.“There is no explanation for it. That is the truth,” a top EC official said to poll officials, scorching summer heat is said to be one of the reasons for the people not turning up at polling booths in the city Read: Lok Sabha Election 2024: Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya booked for seeking 'votes on ground of religion'However, Bangalore Rural saw an approximate voter turnout of 67.29 per cent and Kolar had a turnout of 81.48 per cent and 78.07 per cent, respectively Election Commission in Karnataka introduced several initiatives to increase voter turnout in urban constituencies during this election. Measures included encouraging the use of various apps and adding QR codes on voter slips to help voters locate polling booths efforts involved providing information about the number of people in queue and parking facilities at polling stations in Bengaluru, along with an extensive booth election management plan Read: Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 2: In Bengaluru, wheelchair-bound Zomato delivery executive casts his voteThe Voter Helpline and 'Know Your Candidate' apps were part of the drive to simplify the voting process. The Election Commission also improved facilities at polling stations in urban constituencies, based on feedback from surveys conducted in areas with historically low voter turnout in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and previous Lok Sabha elections initiatives aimed to make voting more accessible and efficient, addressing some of the key concerns that had previously discouraged voter participation.(With inputs from PTI)
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