Turning up: The Hindu Editorial on high turnout in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry polls

Assam and Puducherry recorded historically the highest, and Kerala close to the highest, turnout in Assembly elections held on April 9. In Assam, 85.91% of the electorate turned up to vote, while in Puducherry it was over 91.23% and in Kerala, 78.27%. It is hazardous to pinpoint the reasons for high turnouts and treacherous to read meanings into them. However, some reasons are objectively identifiable and some meaningful conjectures can be made. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Puducherry and Kerala culled considerable numbers of names — 7.5% and 3.2%, respectively. In Assam, given that a process for the creation of a National Register of Citizens for the State is under way, it was a Special Revision which is a less rigorous updating of the rolls that led to its shrinking by less than 1%. The smaller size of the denominator — the size of the electorate — is one reason why the turnout percentages are high. Ghost voters and duplicate entries may have been eliminated in the process. Another reason for the higher turnout is that due to intense concerns regarding potential disenfranchisement around the SIR/SR, voters may have taken a keener interest in turning up at the booth. In Assam, for instance, large numbers of migrant voters travelled home to vote. In Kerala, anecdotal reporting suggests that its migrant voters from West Asia who travel during polling season could not do so this time due to the ongoing war.

The Election Commission of India, which is facing flak on various issues, took pride in the high turnout. CEC Gyanesh Kumar termed it a “historic testimony not only for India but for the entire democratic world.” Chief Ministers of all three States hailed the voter enthusiasm as a mark of popular support for the continuation of their governments, while the Opposition in all three sought to interpret it as a bugle of change. That dispute will be settled when the votes are counted on May 4, but regardless of the outcome, voter enthusiasm is the sign of a healthy democracy. That precisely is the reason why the ECI should take on board in an enabling rather than a restrictive manner all the disputes regarding the SIR. While the SIR can clean up the voter rolls, it should never become a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Similarly, the upcoming delimitation and women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies must be designed and implemented in a way that expands voters’ trust and enthusiasm in the electoral process.