The state of Karnataka has had an eventful past couple of days, with the resurrection of a Congress government in the BJP’s only southern bastion. The Bommai-led camp succumbed to anti-incumbency as the people of the state voted in favor of promised change. While the outcomes conformed to the expectations of a dwindling saffron, the magnitude of the victory attained has taken us aback.

But this isn’t another article to ascertain a ‘faltering modi’ or vouch for a movement of ‘opposition unity’ in the build up to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. In fact, we won’t concern ourselves with the results of the 13th at all. We would rather deal with a logistical aspect of the day the state took to the ballots and participated in this supposed ‘festival of democracy’.

Average voter turnout on the 10th of May stood at 73.19% across the state. The Ramanagaram District with a turnout of 85.04% topped the charts, and was closely followed by Chickaballapur and Mandya. On the other hand, the citizens of Bengaluru played the ‘cool kid’ in town as they collectively decided to abstain from turning up to the polling booths. The capital city recorded a turnout of less than 55%, with the Bommanahalli constituency, of which I happen to be a part, attaining an infinitesimal 47%. These numbers surprise me more than the fact that the Congress was able to pull off a whitewash with Siddaramiah in the limelight. When Bengaluru Rural can realize the value of a vote and show up in numbers greater than 80%, it leaves me disillusioned to look at the sheer irresponsibility shown by their urban counterparts.

A study from 2014 (Bhue et al.) depicted that a more educated bracket of voters is likely to reduce the preference for candidates with criminal cases against them by 20% and those with corruption charges by another 20%. Besides, they raise the probability of voting for a female candidate by 13%. But, education doesn’t necessarily mean the pursuit of a ‘working common sense’ since the majority of these ‘better decision makers’ choose to be driven by ignorance, as is clear by the data Bengaluru provides to us.

A major cause for the city’s show of urban apathy has been the lack of faith in the system of governance itself. Since people are driven by opinions that ‘they are all the same, venal and corrupt’ they convince themselves that their vote and maybe the act of voting itself is redundant. Examining this from a psychological perspective, this behavior may stem from the need for instant gratification rampant amidst the urban folk. After all, we lead facile lives, where subservience is at our beck and call. However, when it comes to working with the government, nowhere is it easy or expeditious. In pursuit of change through the executive machinery, we must be driven by patience, a quality which nowadays remains elusive. Thus, we are left blinded by our swift lifestyles, so much so, that we regard ‘slow change’ as ‘no change’.

This however does not provide reason for the palpable urban-rural divide. Is it possible that the more affluent urban folk have discerned non-government based systems to address their issues? Think about it. We don’t care much about Bengaluru’s abysmal public transport infrastructure, because we have made arrangements with more expensive cabs and autos. We aren’t quite bothered by rising prices, since the paycheck we receive continues to remain adequate. Have we unknowingly digressed towards a lifestyle where we don’t really need the government?

However, this isn’t the case with poorer, rural citizens, hence they feel a greater need to express their voice.

But, the class which goes out there and casts their vote may be doing it purely out of vulnerability. This in turn leads to the election of parties which offer ‘freebies’ with largesse and make farfetched promises, which in hindsight would hurt the state’s economics. It isn’t offensive to say that a poorer citizen is more likely to be swayed by communal and caste based politics, thus catering to each party’s vote-bank agendas. Maybe, politicians don’t want educated citizens to cast their vote, because their choice is inclined to be influenced more by actions than divisive manifestoes.

Earlier, the ‘educated’ masses of Bengaluru would prefer to spend their ‘voting-day’ holiday on vacation, as they would coalesce it with the weekend. To curb this, the ECI has strategically begun to conduct elections mid-week, on Wednesdays, but this remains in vain. In fact, questions are now being asked as to whether EVMs should reach offices and replace this customary day off.

They say democracy is dying, but then choose not to vote on the day of the elections.

For long, we as citizens have been blaming the government for a job, not so well done.

But we need to realize that change requires collaboration between the government and the governed.

It’s time to make governance participatory and live up to the definition of a democracy and the first step on this path is to go out and vote.

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