KARWAR: While Karnataka recorded its highest-ever voter turnout at 73.19% and set a record, the polling booth inside the Kadamba Naval Base in Uttara Kannada has probably recorded the lowest at 3.4%.
Officials in Karwar, however, told TNIE that even this meagre percentage is the highest voting ever recorded so far in the Naval base if one goes by the past numbers. The polling booth is located inside the Kendriya Vidyalaya School at INS Kadamba Naval Base.
Of the 265 registered voters, only 9 voted (6 men and 3 women). The polling booth was started 10 years ago in 2014 for the Lok Sabha elections. Since then, the voting percentage has not crossed the single-digit figure. In the 2018 Lok Sabha elections, just 3 voters exercised their franchise.
Officials, however, do not consider this as poor voting. “Though this year’s percentage is very low, it is actually the highest-ever recorded percentage,” a senior official told TNIE.
When Contacted, Jayalakshmi, Assistant Commissioner, said, “The people here are from the service sector. Many have opted for Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot Service, commonly called ‘Postal Ballot’. This polling station was created ten years ago due to pressure by the locals.” Many of the voters here belong to different states and they prefer voting in their respective state elections, she added.