As India votes in the world’s largest electoral exercise, enthusiasm from across the nation has been translating into increased voter turnout. Leading the trend are the rural voters who have been coming out in the scorching heat of Indian summer to exercise their right and to contribute their bit to the formation of the government of the largest democracy. However, what has been lacking is the required zeal coming in from metropolitan centers of the nation. Delhi which voted in the 6th phase of the general elections also saw a dip in voter turnout. Delhi which recorded a voter turnout of approx 65 % in the 2014 general elections saw a dip of around 5%, hence the approximated voter turnout for the 2019 general elections stands at just 60%, which is not just low on individual merit but also does not throw good light upon the electoral culture in the national capital.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said the turnout did not meet the expectations despite the awareness campaigns undertaken by the Election Commission and several other organizations. “The drop in turnout was disappointing,” he said.
According to ECI’s voter turnout app, Chandni Chowk recorded 62.67%, North East Delhi recorded 63.41%, East Delhi recorded 61.95%, New Delhi known for its VIP voters recorded the lowest among PC’s in NCT just 56.91%, North West Delhi recorded 58.99%, and West Delhi recorded 60.70% and South Delhi recorded 58.63%.
Nonetheless, dismal voter turnout in the national capital territory calls for increased efforts by the electorate to take part in the democratic processes. While other metropolitan centers like Mumbai saw a positive increase in the voter turnout compared to the last general elections, Delhi which has been an epicenter of rugged national politics has not stood on the expectations with its significant dip in voter participation.
Delhi which has been witnessing a trilateral competition between BJP, AAP and the Congress has been in the spotlight over discussions between AAP and the Congress to forge an alliance to take on the BJP, however as the talks failed it saw a huge dip in the enthusiasm of AAP workers as Aam Aadmi Party is now poised to repeat its embarrassing performance from the 2014 general elections in Delhi.
Taking this invaluable right of franchise for granted has plagued the nation for long and has been significantly impacting the voter turnout in the nation. Urban centers have been the biggest culprits and topping the lists are mega-urban centers like Delhi which boasts a total number of voters to be at around 1.43 crore, However still the estimated total number of eligible voters is much higher.
Joining Delhi in the low voter turnout trend were also Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. While voting provides the electorate with a formal tool to put out their choice, however blatant disregards for the polling day which is considered to be as just another ‘holiday’ is not only distrustful to the people coming out and standing in long lines to cast their choices but also disrespectful to the thousands of people who have brought India to where it is by their sweat and blood.