Low turnout may not bode well for BJP
New Delhi, February 8
Delhi recorded a turnout of 61.56 per cent, down from 67.12 per cent it recorded in the 2015 Assembly elections. In 2013, it was 65.63 per cent, while in the 2008 elections, the turnout stood at 57.58 per cent.
A low percentage may not be a good sign for the challenger, the BJP. The voting percentage holds key messages and relevance. While a high turnout is generally seen as evidence of the legitimacy of the current system, some also read it as a signal for change. Likewise, a low turnout may be seen as a reflection of disenchantment/indifference or of contentment of voters about the current system.
Incidentally, the 2020 polls are fourth since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which Narendra Modi-led BJP swept with élan. However, much has changed since then with the BJP seeing an erosion in vote base in states where it contested since then — Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand — losing two of them to its rivals. Results from states and independent studies show people who voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls voted differently in Assembly elections.
While AAP used transformation of government schools, public health system, electricity and water supply at subsidised rates and free bus travel for women as the poll card, the BJP campaign that initially started with claiming credit for providing ownership documents to 40 lakh residents of unauthorised colonies and “triple-engine governance” took a turn, putting the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest at the centre stage. It projected the protests as “anti-national” and blamed AAP and Congress for backing these protests. — TNS
