Concerted efforts result in Belagavi, Chikkodi constituencies recording higher voter turnout

Polling percentage in Belagavi district has increased slightly over the last general elections due to concerted efforts by various agencies and the District SVEEP Committee.

Voter turnout has been higher than last time. In Chikkodi Lok Sabha Constituency, voter turnout was 75.52% in 2019, while it is 78.51% this time, an increase of 3%.

In Belgaum Lok Sabha Constituency, polling was recorded at 67.70% last time. But this time, it is 71.49% for an increase of 4%.

Voting has been recorded at 73.87% in Khanapur Assembly Constituency and 73.87% in Kittur Assembly Constituency that are part of Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha Constituency. The average voting in the district was around 75%.

On polling day, for some reason, some electors who came to the polling booth within the prescribed hours were allowed to vote after they were given tokens. Polling was conducted peacefully in all parts of the district.

The district administration has observed that around 80% of all physically challenged persons exercised their franchise.

The aged

P.S. Kulkarni, aged 102, cast his vote with enthusiasm. He has voted in most of the general elections and bypolls till now. He came to the booth in Belagavi with his relatives. The real hero, however, was Raghavendra Kalghatgi, a 104-year-old freedom fighter, who came to the polling booth riding a moped. Mallanna Siddannanavar, aged 91, who has voted in all elections since 1957, also exercised his franchise.

Earlier, SVEEP activities were carried in a focussed manner. Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer and SVEEP Committee chairman Rahul Shinde targeted villages and hamlets that had either boycotted polls in the past or had witnessed reduced polling.

Teams of district and taluk-level officers were sent to such villages and the grievances of the public were addressed.

SVEEP activities were taken to college students, women’s groups and also, carried out at MGNREGA worksites.

Mr. Shinde, Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar Guled and other officers took out padayatras, organised bike rallies, boat and hot air balloon rides to create awareness about universal franchise.

Mr. Shinde visited colleges to speak to students about the need for active engagement in the election process and the need to develop an informed opinion about current affairs.

Members of an international delegation of five countries arrived to observe the election process in India. These officers, who work for the Election Commissions in their countries, visited various polling stations early in the morning in Belagavi district.

The team that came to Belagavi included officers from Cambodia, Nepal, Moldova, Seychelles and Tunisia.

General observers of Belagavi and Chikkodi Lok Sabha constituencies M.K. Arvind Kumar and G.S. Panda Das also visited various polling booths. They also watched the process through the webcasting system.

Electoral Officer of Belagavi Lok Sabha Constituency Nitesh Patil and Electoral Officer of Chikkodi Constituency Rahul Shinde inspected the booths.

Now, the EVMs of Belagavi Lok Sabha Constituency are stored in the counting centres of Rani Parvati Devi College in Belagavi and those of Chikkodi constituency in the Ramachandra Dhondo College in Chikkodi.