Telangana Assembly Polls 2018: Why Hyderabad recorded the lowest voter turnout in state

Indian Muslim women stand in a queue to cast their votes in Hyderabad. (Image: AP)

The high-voltage campaign ahead of Telangana’s first independent assembly election, appeals by eminent citizens and presence of celebrities in queues during polling, failed to convince the people of Hyderabad district to turn up for voting.

Hyderabad, which has the highest number of assembly constituencies from the state, recorded the lowest turnout among all 31 districts. The total polling percentage in all of Hyderabad’s 15 seats was recorded below 50 percent.

The total turnout in the district stood at 48.89 percent, according to the Election Commission of India (EC). Around 49.81 percent of the male voters and 47.90 percent of the female voters cast their votes in the district, respectively. About 20.06 percent transgender voters cast their vote, the data suggests.

The overall voter turnout across the state was recorded at 73.20 percent.

The day of voting was possibly one of the major reasons for a low turnout in Hyderabad. Polling was scheduled for December 7 which was a Friday. The day was declared as a holiday in the state for voting. People may have travelled to nearby destinations outside the city on the extended weekend.

Hyderabad’s information technology (IT) sector, that makes the state capital an IT hubs, was working on the voting day.

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajath Kumar had reportedly asked IT companies to declare a holiday so that their employees could vote. However, the companies requested the poll panel to allow a flexible working day for employees who want to cast their vote.

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