Civil society undertakes campaign to awaken 'apathetic' voters in city

HYDERABAD: Sanjay Sharma (name changed) a resident of Hitec City, who runs a consultancy firm is not sure if he will vote this year.
"Frankly speaking, I don't think voting or abstaining from it matters at all," said Sharma. The businessman's predicament, who moved to Hyderabad four years ago, by and large, reflects the mood of thousands of people in the city.
In a first, resident welfare associations, civil society groups and senior citizen groups have come together to launch one of the biggest-ever campaigns to 'awaken' the apathetic voter and boost the urban voter turnout in the city.
"During 2009, the overall voter turnout in the state was 72% but in urban areas it was much lower. In some areas, it was as low as 35%," said V B Jagannadha Rao Chelikani, president, Tarnaka Residents Welfare Association.
"This is a real opportunity to persuade reluctant urban voters who have lost hope that their vote can make a difference," said Chelikani adding that voter turnout among plush urban localities is especially low.
Resident welfare associations across twin cities are now taking up awareness activities in their localities and are also taking the help of social media to increase the voter turnout in the city. Some have even taken up drives in schools to influence children to push their parents to vote. Activists hope that the voter turnout will go up by 90% this year due to their efforts.
Associated with Election Watch, Chelikani maintains that the emergence of the Aam Aadmi party in New Delhi has rekindled hope that it is possible to get 'rid of the traditional rut.' So far, the political leadership at the urban level is being determined by the slums where voters vote enmasse for one candidate.
"Interestingly, even though the slum population accounts for less than 20% of the voters, the candidate they vote for wins and therefore represents the entire population. That is where the urban voter falters," said Rao.
Apathy of the urban voters is being cited as the primary reason for the poor voter turnout. For instance, the voter turnout in the last elections in Malkajgiri constituency was 55%, 50 % in Qutbullahpur, 53%, in Kukatpally, 42 % in Uppal and 53 % in Serilingampally.
"Most of the urban areas are lagging behind by 15-20 % from rural areas in terms of voter turnout," said Professor Subbarangaiah Kopparapu, Secretary of Lets Vote, an NGO that has devoted itself to the cause.
B T Srinivasan, executive vice-president, United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, Greater Hyderabad, said the associations are currently working on the enrollments, which is open till March 30.
"Two days prior to the voting day, we will organize an activity in our association halls where residents will vote as to how many are going to vote on the polling day," said Srinivasan.
"We have also discussed having separate queues for senior citizens and ramps for the physically-handicapped," Srinivasan added.
Moreover, interaction programmes will be organised with all the contesting candidates of various constituencies, wherein area-specific problems will be listed out and feedback from candidates will be taken, activists said. Also, the "none of the above" option is set to increase the percentage of voters this year, opined activists.
"We will see that there is 100% voting from our colonies. Polling day is not a holiday," said Radhakrishna, a social activist.