Team News Riveting
New Delhi, December 3
Surat, Rajkot and Jamnagar have recorded lower than State average of voter turnout of 63.3 per cent in first phase of Gujarat elections.
While voting percentage increased in many constituencies, the average voter turnout figure is dampened by urban apathy of these important districts just as during recently concluded general election to the legislative assembly of Himachal Pradesh, urban Assembly Constituency of Shimla recorded the lowest at 62.53 per cent (less by 13 percentage point) as against the State average of 75.6 per cent.
Gujarat cities have shown the similar urban apathy trend during voting on 1st December 2022 in Assembly elections thus pulling down the percentage of voting in first phase.
Noting the voter turnout figures with concern, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, on behalf of ECI, appeals to the voters of Gujrat to come out in large numbers during second phase so as to compensate for low voting in 1st phase. The possibility of surpassing 2017 voting percentage now lies in their increased participation only.
The Gandhidham AC in Kuchchh district, which has industrial establishments recorded lowest polling percentage of 47.86 per cent, a sharp decline of 6.34 per cent than the last election in 2017, recording a new low. The second lowest voting was in Karanj constituency of Surat, which is also 5.37 per cent lower than its own low of 55.91 per cent in 2017.
Major cities/ urban areas of Gujrat have not only recorded decline in voting percentage as compared to 2017 elections, but have also voted much less than State average of 63.3 per cent. Decline in Rajkot west is very sharp at 10.56 per cent.
The voting percentage in the first phase of election in 2017 was 66.79 per cent. Had the voting percentage in these Assembly Constituencies been even equal to level of even their own voting percentage in 2017 election, the state average would have been more than 65 per cent.
There is a conspicuous gap in voting turnout between rural and urban constituencies. The gap of voter turnout is as wide as 34.85 per cent if it is compared in rural constituency of Dediapada in Narmada district which has recorded 82.71 per cent and that in urban AC of Gandhidham in Kuchchh district which has witnessed 47.86 per cent of voter turnout. Also, average turnout in important urban areas is lower than turnout in rural constituencies.
Within many districts, rural constituencies in those districts have voted much more than the urban constituencies of the same district. For example-in Rajkot, there is a decline in all the urban ACs.
All the 26 ACs which recorded more than 65 per cent voting are rural and not even one urban AC has crossed the mark of 65 per cent voting.
To address the urban apathy trend across the country, the Commission has directed all CEOs to identify low voter turnout ACs and Polling stations to ensure targeted awareness interventions to increase voting percentage. Recently also CEC Rajiv Kumar along with EC Anup Chandra Pandey, interacted with Nodal Officers of over 200 Voter Awareness Forums from various industrial units in Pune, which has earned the tag as one of the lowest voting percentage Parliamentary Constituencies in 2019 general elections.
