 "Free breakfast to diamond rings, EC on overdrive to boost voter turnout")
Low voter turnout in several constituencies has prompted the Election Commission (EC) to take help from civil society, start-ups, traders’ association and others to enthuse the electorate to turn up at polling booths.
The EC has said that the turnout, 66.14 per cent in phase 1 and 66.71 per cent in phase two, “seen against electoral participation history in India is among the best but somewhat lags behind the high benchmarks of 2019”.
“Urban apathy” towards voting, whether in Bengaluru or Ghaziabad and Noida, remains a concern and it has prompted the poll panel to “double up” its efforts.
The state election commissions (SEC) have organised street plays, musical shows and encouraged civil society to hold lucky draws for voters to get the electorate to queue up to exercise their franchise on the polling day in the subsequent phases.
In Kashmir, where the voter turnout on its three seats was poor after separatists gave a boycott call in 2019, a Jashne-e-Jugalbandi was organised at Srinagar’s pedestrian-only market, Polo View, Lal Chowk on May 2.
The state EC has held ‘henna’ art and ‘rangoli’ competitions for first time women voters, held awareness programmes in colleges, put up a selfie point and a mock polling booth inside an igloo in Gulmarg’s Affarwat slopes and had rafters carry placards asking people to vote.
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In MP’s Bhopal and Gwalior, which voted on Tuesday, and also in Indore, which will vote on May 13, bus operators have promised free rides for three days for those who have voted.
Lucky draws are also being held on polling booths for T-shirts and caps.
In Bhopal, those who voted on Tuesday stood the chance of winning diamond rings, refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, etc.
In Indore, traders’ associations have distributed free breakfast of poha and jalebi and pathology labs have promised discounts to voters if they were to show an inked finger.
In Karnataka, where voting took place on 14 seats on Tuesday, EC organised five ‘sakhi booths’ decorated in pink and managed by women polling personnel, and also ‘go green’ booths to create awareness about climate change.
Shops and restaurants offered discounts, and according to a PTI report, a liquor shop in Hubballi promised a 3% discount on May 8, the day after polling. Liquor shops are shut on the day of polling.
In Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, the local administration has promised to install bronze colour boards with names of housing societies and villages where 76-85 per cent will be recorded on the polling day on May 13, and silver and gold colour boards for those recording better turnout.
EC has asked all polling booths to ensure supply of drinking water and ORS, while civil society groups have distributed butter milk at some places.