HYDERABAD: Call it disdain towards electoral politics or lack of voter turnout , Hyderabad, like every metropolis or a big city, faces this problem not just every five years, but in every local election as well. This phenomenon of urban voter apathy not only puzzles the Election Commission and social scientists alike, but the GHMC as well, especially after the massive exercise of electoral rolls revision.Consider this: 53% of Hyderabad district’s registered voters cast ballots in the 2014 election. It looks like a great turnout. But this turnout pales when compared to the state’s voting per cent of 72. Erstwhile Nalgonda district towered at 81%, while neighbouring Ranga Reddy stole a march over Hyderabad with 60% voting. Interestingly, polling per cent in 2009 elections in Hyderabad was 58. Worse still, during the GHMC elections, a paltry 46% turned out to exercise their ballot — this was slightly better than 42% in 2009 GHMC polls.Officials point out that a majority of slum dwellers do turn out to vote and it’s the voter in upscale colonies who prefers to stay away. “A majority of voters who do not come to polling booths assume that it’s a public holiday and enjoy watching movies or engage in other activities. Secondly, some people fail to locate their polling booth and do not bother to check their booth number a day before the voting day. The third category consists of duplicate voters wherein voters move from one locality to another and continue to exercise their voting right in both the constituencies,” a former returning officer said.Despite the history of reduced turnout, the city continues to represent an untapped opportunity for political parties as GHMC has 24 assembly constituencies, which can tilt the scales of candidates this way or that way. “In the urban areas, polling percentage is low when compared to the rural areas. In 2014, a massive campaign was taken up by the GHMC to improve voting percent, which paid dividends in some segments,” Somesh Kumar, former GHMC commissioner and district election officer (DEO) of Hyderabad in 2014.

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