Highest voter turnout recorded in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Exceeding its previous best of 67.6% recorded in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Karnataka has posted an all-time polling high of 68.6% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As per data released by the Election Commission of India on Wednesday, the state also enhanced its 2014 figure of 67.2% by 1.4 percentage points.

The JD(S)-Congress alliance and the BJP have both become confident of improving their individual tallies due to the record turnout in the state.

Leaders of the JD(S)-Congress believe that the high voting percentage owed to people's commitment to democracy, whereas BJP leaders believe that the turnout reveals people's support for the saffron party. Some leaders of the party said that there should have been an even greater surge in voting, but non-BJP voters did not appear. "It shows people's faith in democracy, and we are confident that they have made the right choice," chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said. He added, "That voters have come out in large numbers is also a result of overall increase in awareness."

"Unlike up to the late 1980s when caste politics was not so divisive in Karnataka, it is very difficult to predict who will benefit from a large turnout until we get the booth-wise details. As an alliance, we're confident of getting 18-20 seats", Congress' Priyank Kharge said. Implying that more awareness has been spread among people, especially in rural segments, he said, "Unlike in urban areas, people in rural areas are more concerned about policies. I think this will have an impact."

According to BJP state general secretary N Ravi Kumar, the high turnout was due to fervent voting by BJP supporters. "Barring segments like Tumakuru and Mandya, Congress and JD(S) voters have not come out to vote and this clearly indicates that it is advantage BJP," he said. "We'll get a minimum of 20 seats this time and that's because we have also managed to poach some votes from traditional Congress voters. For example, other than in Mysuru belt, we will get at least 50% of the Kuruba votes too."