Voter apathy? 1 in 3 UT voters opted not to vote in LS polls

Chandigarh: In a planned city like Chandigarh with a high literacy rate, when it comes to being politically involved via the ballot box, at least one-third of the voters chose not to vote in most of the past 14 Lok Sabha elections. This includes people from urban areas, youth, and residents who have relocated from the city for employment, education, or other reasons.A retired historian from Panjab University, M Rajivlochan, attributes this trend partly to the city’s affluent population, saying, “Poor have all sorts of incentives to participate in elections. It’s like a paid vacation for them. But here, most people are affluent and feel like they don’t really need politicians to sort out their lives. They’ve got everything they need, so those who do vote from the posh areas have to be committed.”

Rajivlochan’s claims were evident in the data of area-wise turnout in 2019.Voter turnout: Colonies ahead of sectors In 2019, as per the data, it seemed like every third voter in the Lok Sabha polls was from one of the colonies. And for every third person who didn’t vote, there’s a chance they might be in sectors.In 2019, the highest voter turnout of 85.41% was recorded at the polling station in Sector 25, which received voters from Bapudham and nearby slum areas. On the flip side, polling stations in the sectors recorded a lower turnout, with the lowest being 47.05% at Sector 31 C.‘Percentage of non-voters largely consistent’While the number of registered voters saw a seven-fold spike from 76,232 in 1967 to around 6.47 lakhs in 2024, the percentage of non-voters remains largely consistent. Notably, during the census year of 1971, which also had elections. Over 15% of those eligible did not have a voter ID, and of those who did, over 30% vote, implying around 44-45% of eligible voters did not exercise their right to vote.No voter ID or NOTA around the 1990s“Back in the mid-1990s and before that, the absence of voter ID facilitated people to pull off tricks for proxy voting and it was easy. Since NOTA was not there, those who did not prefer anyone did not vote. Maybe, NOTA voters now also, won’t be high in the city, resulting in stagnancy of certain 30% people in the uncast vote category,” Prof said.Migration often results in lost votesShaila, a migrant who has not transferred her voter ID, said, “For people like us with jobs that take us everywhere, it’s hard to keep up. We are uncertain of our stay here. Even though there is an online process, sometimes online forms get stuck, and there's no deadline for when they'll be processed. With two kids to take care of, we’ve seen our fair share of documentation nightmares at different places, so transfer of voting card just adds to the chaos.”