Voter apathy: BBMP reaches out to RWAs; to also advertise on popular delivery apps

RWAs and apartment associations too doing their bit to increase voter turnout

The BBMP Commissioner holds a meeting on voter awareness with various Resident Welfare Associations on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Bengaluru

After the Election Commission (EC) raised concerns over the urban apathy towards voting in Bengaluru, the BBMP has undertaken various initiatives to improve voter turnout under Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath on Wednesday evening held a videoconference with representatives of Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) of all eight BBMP zones and requested them to vote and create awareness among the residents. The civic body has also created 2,900 Voters Awareness Forum (VAF) in various government and private offices.

Apart from reaching out to residents through MLAs, the BBMP also plans to reach out to citizens through social media campaigns. Mr. Giri Nath said: “As part of the awareness campaign, we will use platforms like Swiggy and Zomato to advertise to reach out to more people. We will also organise contests, bike rallies, and walkathons as part of the awareness.”

The BBMP said it is implementing voter awareness programmes to reach migrant labourers, transgender community, other marginalised sections, women, senior citizens, youth, and first-time voters.

On the other hand, RWAs and apartment associations too have been doing their bit to up the voter turnout. The Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) has been conducting awareness on voting from the past few months and have also launched a special campaign called ‘’Every Vote Matters (EVM)’ in various apartment complexes and gated villas. Vikram Rai, general secretary of BAF, said: “Under EVM, we were able to enrol many voters from apartments and other residential complexes. Now, along with BBMP, we will create awareness on voting.”

Mohan Krishna, member of J.P. Nagar Resident Welfare Association, said: “City residents should know that voting is very important. If voters don’t like the candidate, they can go for NOTA. Voting is our responsibility, hence our RWA is holding meetings with residents.”