Calling urban apathy a major concern in elections to Karnataka, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said as against the 72% polling in Karnataka during the 2018 Assembly elections, the constituencies in Bengaluru had recorded around 55% polling in 2018, a number which continues to fall.
Announcing the schedule for elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on March 29, 2023, the CEC said the Election Commission has reached out this time around to IT firms, colleges and start-ups to increase awareness on voting.
The CEC said that four electoral districts in Bengaluru had the lowest voter turnout in 2013 and 2018 Assembly elections, much less than the State average. The constituencies include BBMP (North), BBMP (South), BBMP (Central) and Bengaluru Urban — all urban constituencies in India’s IT hub. “Another disturbing trend is that it is decreasing from the earlier election year of 2013,” Mr. Kumar said. He added that 88% of polling stations in these four electoral districts were in urban areas.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said as against the 72% polling in Karnataka during the 2018 Assembly elections, the constituencies in Bengaluru had recorded around 55% polling, a number which continues to fall. | Photo Credit: Election Commission of India
To tackle this, in addition to awareness activities like electoral literacy clubs (ELCs) and voter awareness forums (VAFs), the EC has planned to leverage Bengaluru’s reputation as a knowledge and IT hub.
In association with IISc, IIT, startups, educational institutions and IT professionals, the EC will hold ‘Electhons’ to enhance participation of urban and youth voters, to ensure registration of new voters and boost voter turnout on polling day.
Money power
Another major concern in Karnataka is the use of money power, CEC Kumar pointed out. The cVigil app has been heavily publicised in the State for people to inform the EC on malpractices, he said. Citizens can anonymously lodge complaints on the app which has a response timeline of 100 minutes.
The measures are aimed towards making the election fair, intimidation-free and inducement-free. To curb the misuse of money power, Static Surveillance Teams have been increased from 1929 in 2018 to 2400 for the 2023 elections. Teams to monitor Expenditure Sensitive Constituencies have gone up from 61 to 81, Expenditure Observers from 136 to 146, and Flying Squad teams from 1797 to 2016.
“This is to make it very clear to all political parties and candidates that there will be zero tolerance towards the use of money power,” the CEC said.
Following the ECI’s directions, 171 inter-State checkposts have also been set up along the National Highways and State highways entering Karnataka from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa where vehicular movement and suspicious arrivals and departures can be tracked.
The EC has sought the cooperation of police and other enforcement agencies from neighboring States. Multiple enforcement agencies such as State police, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Excise, Income Tax, Central Board Of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Indian Coast Guard and Enforcement Directorate apart from Airport Authority of India and Reserve Bank of India have been involved.
Even without the model code on conduct in force, during its visit to Karnataka in mid-March, the Election Commission made seizures totalling ₹9.297 crore, including cash, freebies, liquor, drugs, and metals, in 48 hours. “Having, by and large, tackled muscle power in elections, it is time to focus on tackling money power,” Mr. Kumar said.
