Achi news desk-
Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections ended on Friday. Similar to the first stage, also in the second stage the percentage of voting was low. Due to low turnout for the second consecutive round, all sides are making their own claims. What does low turnout mean? Why is there apathy among voters regarding the elections?
These questions were discussed in “Khbar Khaladi” this week. Senior journalists Ramkripal Singh, Vinod Agnihotri, Avadhesh Kumar, Purnima Tripathi, Anurag Verma, Rakhi Bakshi and Katyayani Chaturvedi were present in the discussion.
Ramkripal Singh: All parties should be concerned about why the voter turnout is falling? I am sad to say that everyone talks about the pros and cons according to their own. We cannot refer to the discretion of the voter in which decision he will make. At the same time I must say that it is a sad subject. Why is this indifference towards democracy happening political parties should be more concerned about the common people?
Abdesh Kumar: There is not as much indifference in elections as we think. There is a high point in every country’s elections. We must assume that the last election is the high point. After that it goes down. The turnout decreased by about two percent compared to last time. We can’t call it a huge drop.
Rakhi Bakshi: Voting was more in the rural areas. It was reduced in urban areas. It is a matter of analyzing why the percentage of elections is decreasing. The election committee took many steps. In the midst of all this, some new things happened. Several people also came from abroad to vote. For the first time, voters also appeared. Women were also seen in the queues. We will have to see why the turnout is decreasing even after all this.
Katyayani Chaturvedi: Because of the indifference we are talking about, the parties probably did not provide such candidates that would bring out the voters. As far as BJP is concerned, the face there is PM Modi. Other candidates become secondary to him. It moves up and down by two to four percent. At the same time, if we talk about women, they voted in large numbers. I think this turnout will increase in the coming stages.
Purnima Tripathi: If there are fewer votes or more votes, who will gain, who will suffer a loss? There is no fixed formula for this. Voters on the one hand think that 400 mandates are coming, so why should we worry too much, we will sit at home on the 4th and see the results. At the same time, the voters on the other side lose hope for the change they want, and therefore also kept their distance.
Vinod Agnihotri: I think if there is any problem in the whole of India, it is that of apathy. Data shows that 62 percent of the first voters did not even register. It’s a matter for political parties to think about. This is a matter that worries both the party and the opposition. The difference between 2019 and 2024 is that in 2024, Rahul Gandhi is not the same issue as he was in 2019. The opposition fights on different fronts in different countries. A major reason for low turnout is that voters have no enthusiasm for either the party or the opposition.
