NGO contradicts voter turnout figures

NGO contradicts voter turnout figures
Bangalore: Apr 3, DH News Service:

A city-based citizens’ forum on Friday claimed that the voter turnout for the just concluded Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was about 60 per cent and not 44 per cent as shown by the State Election Commission.

Amar Krishnamurthy of the NGO, SmartVote said the City’s total population is roughly 80 lakh as per the Census of India whereas the SEC’s voter rolls showed 70 lakh. “This cannot be a valid voter roll list,” he said. Around 70-73 per cent of the population is above 18 years of age, which means that the voter’s population is only about 56 lakh, he contended.

“Even if 100 per cent of these people had registered to vote, the voter roll could have been merely 56 lakh,” said Subbu Vincent, a volunteer of Citizens’ Matter.
Vincent argued that not everyone eligible would have actually registered to vote since the registration process is not user-friendly. “So a valid voter roll size would be smaller than 56 lakh.”

The forum alleged that they had evidence to show that the city’s electoral rolls were bloated to such a degree that the turnout percentage was inaccurate. “Voters’ turnout in the city is quite satisfactory. The KSEC should look at its fault instead of pointing towards the Bangaloreans for the so-called poor turnout,” said S Rajesh of SmartVote.