CHENNAI: Even as there is only one week left for the Tamil Nadu urban local body polls, a large chunk of the population, most of them youngsters, is still unaware of the elections. Of the aware population, many are hesitant to vote due to factors like lack of information on polling booths, ward numbers, etc.
Many people in their 20s, whom TNIE interacted with, did not even know what local body elections were. “I cast my vote in the last Assembly elections. While the campaigning for Assembly elections was extensive, there was not as much buzz about the local body elections. Campaign strategies have not grabbed the attention of youngsters,” K Raju, a college student from Tiruppur, said.
Apart from this, there are various other logistical issues. Hundreds of residents are not aware of the number of wards they live in.“In the recent years, many wards were merged and numbers were updated. But residents are not abreast of the changes. Even the house tax payment receipt that I received last September had the old ward number on it. We are made aware of the new numbers and polling booth information only when candidates go on door-to-door campaigns,” T Sadagopan, a resident activist from Pattabiram, said.
Sadagopan added that he called the Corporation helpline number (1913) to find the new ward numbers. He was asked to contact the revenue department but, he said, most of the contact details of tahsildars mentioned on the official websites were outdated.According to Aakash Krishna from Coimbatore, most of the residents were unaware of the new ward numbers.
Talking to TNIE, young voters suggested that school students should be educated about the local body election structure so that they are aware of the system and vote when they are of legal age. “Many young voters give polling a miss due to lack of understanding. Awareness at the school level will ensure better voting percentage,” said M Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Tirunelveli.
Many residents of Chennai, with votes in the city, have gone back to their hometowns due to the pandemic and work from home. Several others have decided to not vore as polling booths could be crowded and social distancing norms could potentially go for a toss. These factors could also bring down the voting percentage.
(Inputs from Tiruppur, Tirunelveli and Coimbatore)