Apathy and the City

The first phase of assembly elections in Karnataka, which concluded on Saturday, May 10, witnessed a 60 per cent turnout. This does not immediately indicate whether the turnout in this election is higher or lower this time because the boundaries of constituencies have changed due to fresh delimitation since the state went to assembly polls last in the year 2004.

But the data for voter turnout on Saturday does confirm a trend in Karnataka: over the last few assembly elections, urban constituencies in the state have regularly witnessed lower turnout when compared to the rural constituencies. In the case of the Bangalore region, while the difference in the rural-urban turnout is the most glaring this time 8212; at 28.1 per cent 8212; the city has traditionally lagged behind its rural areas on this count see Table 1.

While the lower turnout in urban constituencies is generally a matter of concern, the statistics from Bangalore should not occasion a huge surprise. They only fall into the national trend: of lower turnouts in urban constituencies when compared to rural constituencies. Figures in Table 2 confirm that the former have consistently witnessed lower turnouts as compared to the latter over at least the last four Lok Sabha elections.

The writer is a fellow at the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, Delhi