DEHRADUN: A survey of voting patterns in the 2017 Uttarakhand elections reveals that 82% of constituencies in the nine hill districts polled less than that of the state average of 65.60%. Of total 70 seats, 36 are in the plains of Haridwar, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts while the remaining 34 are in hill districts of Pauri, Tehri, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Almora, Pithoragarh, Champawat and Bageshwar.
“Hilly areas have lesser voters than those in the plains. Lesser people go to vote in these areas as well. Subsequently, about 40 to 50 per cent of voters are not able to participate in the democratic process. According to our analysis, heavy migration is one of the likely key factors for the low turnout,” NGO Social Development for Communities president Anoop Nautiyal revealed.
The NGO had analysed the data related to the voting pattern in the state. In most hill seats, the average voter size is in the 45,000-60,000 range. Vote share is also lower. The vote percentage of 28 was below the state average of 65.6% in 2017. Only Uttarkashi was an exception with 69.38% voting.
“Governments, policymakers and public representatives should try to understand the reasons why voting is so high in Uttarkashi as compared to other hill districts. The EC should make efforts to increase the voting percentage in other hilly areas,” said Praveen Upreti, who did the analysis.
Padma awardee and environmentalist Shekhar Pathak blamed the exodus from the mountains for the situation. “Those registered as voters are not able to return to vote in most cases.” Chief Electoral Officer Sowjanya asserted that efforts were on to encourage more voters to participate. “We are running awareness campaign online and offline to make them realise the value of votes.”