Voter apathy continues to bog Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The elections proved quite a dampener in Bengaluru North constituency, where the voting percentage was as low as 50.03 per cent on Thursday when compared to even the 56.53 recorded the previous Lok Sabha poll.

Going by polling officers in the North constituency, there was a crowd in the morning at the KR Puram assembly constituency, Byatarayanapura, Mallesh—waram and Yeshwanthapur, but as the day passed the turnout fell, before it picked up again in the evening. However, the turnout was diappointing, they admitted.  

Meanwhile, a few minor incidents like malfunctioning EVMs were reported from some booths. In Ramamurthy Nagar, voters were furious when one of the machines did not work in the morning, but fortunately, it was set it right within a few minutes.

There were also rumours about 50 names  missing from the electoral rolls in various booths in Malleshwaram, but  there was no official confirmation of this.

The elections were, however, by and  large peaceful across the constituency, barring a few minor incidents and technical glitches that were quickly addressed by the police and polling officers.

Worst polling at Bengaluru central

Of the three constituencies in the city, Bengaluru Central reported the worst polling percentage of 49.76, much lower than even the dismal, 55.64 it had recorded in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

The poor turnout was despite the addition of many new voters to the electoral roll these elections. Some of those, who did turn out to vote, took to Facebook to vent their anger at those who didn’t, saying they were not qualified to complain against the government if they didn’t bother to come out and assert their right to choose.

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