EC asks Maha poll officers how to tackle urban apathy

With poor voter turnout in Maharashtra metros, including Mumbai, Thane and Pune in the Lok Sabha polls, fresh in its mind, the Election Commission on Friday asked the state election officials to spell out their plan to enhance elector participation in the coming assembly polls, sources said.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during the first day of review of poll preparedness of the state asked the district election officers and municipal commissioners to explain the steps taken by them to deal with 'urban apathy'.

Urban apathy is a phenomenon where the urban populace and the youth prefer to stay indoors on the voting day and do not turn up at the polling stations to cast their votes.

The Election Commission has been making efforts to enthuse the voters to exercise their franchise but has not succeeded fully.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, it had convened a meeting of the election officers and municipal commissioners of the areas which have historically seen poor voter turnout.

Expressing concern, Chief Election Commissioner Kumar stressed on the need to have a "robust action plan" to address urban apathy, the sources said.

Contrasting this with the impressive voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir and the Left-Wing Extremism affected Bastar region, he pointed out that if these sensitive areas could achieve high participation, there is no reason why the urban centres with better infrastructure and access to information cannot follow suit.

He directed the district election officers and municipal commissioners to intensify awareness efforts, engage the youth in colleges and universities and ensure a stronger voter engagement in the upcoming elections.