While Karnataka has recorded a higher number of voters in the Assembly elections compared to last time, Bengaluru has disappointed the whole state with its low voter turnout. According to the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout App, the state has recorded a 72.82% voter turnout but in Bengaluru languishes at a little above 50%
When the whole state was celebrating its festival of Democracy, 27.18% of its citizens chose to skip the celebration. In the four divisions of Bengaluru city, 45.5% of the citizens chose to “enjoy their holiday” and sleep it off rather than engage in the festival.
A Democracy may not be perfect after all and the leaders that needed to be selected may not be perfect too. For exactly this reason, there is the “None Of The Above (NOTA)” option. If the non-voters don’t want to elect anyone from the list, the least they could do is to vote for NOTA.
Bengalureans are some of the most privileged citizens of Karnataka and yet, a little less than a majority of Bengalureans have refused to vote. It is obviously impossible to attain 100% voter turnout but atleast a 65 to 70% turnout would give hope for the state.
Keeping Bengaluru apart, the 72.82% voter turnout across the state was quite marvellous considering the fact that the percentage amounts to approximately 3,86,56,909 citizens who voted. The number of citizens who voted across the state approximately equals the entire 2023 population of Canada or Morocco.
On the other hand, the 27.18% of registered voters who did not vote account to about 1,44,28,656 which is the approximate population of either Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Guinea, Bolivia, Belgium or even Tunisia. Yes, the number of non-voters in the Karnataka assembly elections approximately amount to the population of either of these countries.
Overall, India is the biggest democracy in the world. The Karnataka election has been crucial not only for political parties but also for the people and supporters of political parties. When more numbers of citizens exercise their right to vote, more clarity will be present on which party gets to be chosen.