THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contrary to the general perception that bypolls tend to increase political vigour among both the cadre and the voters, political Kerala has of late been witnessing a reverse trend. Over the past five years, bypolls in the state have been seeing a dip in voter turnout. On a day the Palakkad assembly constituency went to the polling booth, the state witnessed a lukewarm response from voters in yet another by-election.
A general reluctance on the part of voters coupled with a slew of other factors, including predictability and a lack of significance in the overall political scenario, have played a key role in keeping voters away from bypolls. A scan through the by-elections in the state since 2019 shows that most of them have had a substantial decrease in polling percentage.
In 2019, the state saw bypolls in six assembly constituencies. While the death of sitting MLAs necessitated elections in Pala and Manjeswar, bypolls were held in four other seats -- Ernakulam, Vattiyoorkkavu, Konni and Aroor -- after the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.
Amid a general dip in voter turnout, the polling percentage in Vattiyoorkkavu came down to 62.66% from the 2016 figure of 70.29%. Similarly, in Ernakulam, the percentage dipped to 57.90% from 71.76%.
During the past two bypolls held during the current LDF government -- in 2022 and 2023 -- the voting percentage witnessed a dip. The trend has continued in the three bypolls, including a Lok Sabha constituency, held this month. While there was a small decrease in Chelakkara and Palakkad, the Wayanad LS seat witnessed a substantial reduction in polling percentage.
Voters are usually reluctant to cast their franchise during bypolls as these results do not determine the fate of a government. In constituencies like Wayanad, where the result is more or less predictable, voters tend to lose interest in the political contest, observed psephologist Sajad Ibrahim.
“Psychologically, people are not inclined to vote in by-elections,” Sajad told TNIE.
“They know that their votes won’t change anything. And there is only a short period left for the next election. The general character of voters in Kerala has also been changing through the years. They are now more educated but are not enthusiastic about casting their votes in the general election. This also reflects in the by-election. The ruling front suffered losses. However, this changes in the assembly election,” he said.
