Urban, rural polling trend vary in initial phases
Polling in the initial phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections have shown a varying trend in urban and rural areas as compared to the 2014 general elections, according to the Election Commission data.
For instance, the data for the second phase of polling on April 18 showed that in Bangalore Central, an urban constituency, voting was down by 1.45 per cent from 55.74 per cent in 2014 to 54.29 per cent in 2019.
Similarly, in Bangalore South, polling was down 2.2 per cent from 55.67 per cent in 2014 to 53.47 in 2019.
In Chennai Central, an urban seat in Tamil Nadu, voting was down by 2.67 per cent from 61.36 per cent in 2014 to 58.69 per cent in 2019.
In Amravati in Maharashtra, polling was down by 1.87 per cent from 62.23 per cent in 2014 to 60.36 in 2019.
In Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, polling was up by 0.4 per cent from 71 per cent in 2014 to 71.04 per cent this year, while in Bulandshahar, polling was significantly up by 4.43 per cent from 58.3 per cent in 2014 to 62.73 per cent in 2019.
In West Bengal's Darjeeling, polling percentage was down by 1.49 per cent from 80.2 per cent in 2014 to 78.71 per cent this year, while in the Tribal-dominated Bastar in Chhattisgarh, polling percentage was up by 6.77 per cent from 59.2 per cent in 2014 to 66.84 per cent in 2019.
Similarly, the data for the first phase of polling held on April 11 showed that Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh showed a decline in polling by 4.94 per cent from 72.20 per cent in 2014 to 67.26 per cent this year.
In contrast, polling was up in the Tirupati seat by 2.48 per cent from 76.6 per cent in 2014 to 79.08 per cent in 2019.
Maharashtra's Nagpur seat showed polling was down by 2.31 per cent from 57.05 per cent in 2014 to 54.74 per cent in 2019.
Traditionally, the rural voting percentages have been better than the urban areas as the villagers feel they have more stakes in the country's democracy, while the city electorate exhibit a certain level of apathy with the political process.
Amit Agnihotri