BENGALURU: Despite efforts of the election commission and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to increase voting percentages in this general election, the numbers did not make strides in Bengaluru North parliamentary constituency, which has the highest number of voters in Karnataka.
While many voters braved the heat, some others did not even bother to come out and vote. Segments of voters in slums and apartment pockets opined that voting is a waste of time, as once the election is over, elected candidates would never bother to come and meet the voters and ask about their welfare.
Muneer Khan, 77, who brought his 70-year-old wife on a scooter, to a polling station in HAL ward, said it is appalling to see voters not keen on exercising their rights. Mufeeda Begum, another senior citizen, after casting her vote, said she has now the right to question her MP. Aishwarya, a young voter, stated that people can expect change only if they come out and vote.
Syed Raheem, a social worker who arranged free autos to pick up and drop voters, said, “The scorching heat forced many voters to stay at home and avoid voting. We have arranged over two dozen autos to ferry voters to booths from areas like LBS Nagar, Jyothi Nagar, Gaffar Layout, Reddy Palya, and Islampur in HAL Ward. We also went and asked voters to come out, but the response was poor,” said Raheem.
Further, S Ramesh Babu, BJP General Secretary, KR Puram Assembly, said, many voters in the North segment also have families and friends in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. With the polling day, falling on a weekend, many decided to take a long break. BJP North Lok Sabha segment president S Harish held BBMP and election commission officials responsible for the low turnout as he listed anomalies like name deletion and transfer of voters to other areas.
