It is not uncommon for urban areas to report a lesser voting percentage than rural areas. But in the case of the Greater Hyderabad area, the tally is way too low and even alarming perhaps.
Hyderabad does not even report 60% polling either in general elections or even in GHMC elections. However, it is high time that the urbane population in Hyderabad wakes up and picks whoever they deem fit in the elections.
In the 2018 Telangana elections, Hyderabad recorded a meager 50.86% voting, meaning only half the voting population cast their votes. It was slightly better in 2014 – 52.9%, but this is a shockingly low number, given that this is the very first election in the newly formed state.
In the 2020 GHMC elections, the voting tally is just 49.8% which again is shockingly low.
As per the law, a candidate will be eligible to win the assembly seat if at least 30% of the population in his constituency cast their votes. Hyderabad is just about maintaining this bare minimum tally. This trend needs to change.
