Will there be a spike in voter turnout in Bengaluru?

BENGALURU: Only about half of Bengaluru’s voters exercised their franchise in the last two assembly elections.

In the runup to the elections, election authorities have held a series of activities to bring people out of their homes on poll day, especially in Bengaluru. Whether these awareness campaigns will pay off, one will know at the end of the day, today.

EC has set a target of 75% turnout in Bengaluru. Officials at the District Election Office say they hope to achieve at least a 10% increase. Voter turnout in Bengaluru in 2013 was a meagre 52.8% while that in the state was 70.2% (40 million voters).


In contrast, Bengaluru Rural, which consists of four assembly segments, recorded 77.95% voter turnout. In the 2008 polls, Bengaluru recorded a poor 47.3% turnout.

There are 28 assembly seats in the city and 224 seats in Karnataka. Only 222 seats go to polls on Saturday.