SIR, youth power, cash for votes, campaigns led to highest turnout in Puducherry

Puducherry: Special intensive revision (SIR), enthusiastic participation of youth, cash for votes, and the election department's awareness campaigns led to the highest voter turnout for the 2026 assembly election in the Union territory of Puducherry. The territory recorded 91.23% voter turnout, the highest ever in its electoral history from 1964.SIR removed 7.6% of deceased people and electors, who had moved to other states, or had two Epic cards, resulting in a cleaner database of active and verified voters. Young voters, who did not have affiliation to any major political parties but were recently enthused by NTK's Seeman and TVK's Vijay, turned out in large numbers to support their parties."The primary reason for the highest polling percentage being recorded this assembly poll is SIR. SIR helped us in removing electors registered in two different constituencies or states, electors who shifted to other states or electors who died. SIR removed 7.6% of such electors," said chief electoral officer P Jawahar. "We finalised a clean electoral roll. And finally, of course, the department's awareness initiatives as directed by Election Commission of India have yielded fruitful results," he said.Political analysts, however, cite other reasons as well for the highest voter turnout. They believe that large-scale distribution of cash to voters had influenced them to exercise their democratic rights. "Unlike the neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, which has about two lakh voters in an assembly constituency, the Union territory has just 20,000 to 30,000 voters in a constituency. "The booths in polling stations in Puducherry do not have more than 1,000 voters. There are polling booths with just 250 voters. So, people who receive money from different political parties think that they are duty-bound and come out and vote for one party or the other," said social scientist and political analyst J Babu. Besides, young voters, who regard polling day as a holiday to chill out and abstain from exercising their democratic rights, have this time, turned out in large numbers to cast votes. "Young voters who were disenchanted by the major political parties have recently been attracted by Seeman and Vijay. They were drawn by Seeman's fiery speeches and Vijay's larger-than-life image," said political observer E Bharathi Sivam. "This generation of youth and first-time voters decided to cast votes, contributing to the highest voter turnout per cent," said Sivam.
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