Look at us, we are oldies but…:Sudha Murthy's message to young Karnataka voters

Author and Philanthropist Sudha Murthy urged youngsters and first-time voters in Karnataka to learn from the senior citizens and come out and vote in the elections in Karnataka assembly elections. Voters exercising their power is an essential characteristic of a healthy democracy, she said and also emphasised if the young generation is expecting development then they should vote during the elections. 

Infosys Founder Narayan Murthy’s wife Sudha Murthy voted in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. She gave a message to young voters after casting her vote, "Please look at us. We are oldies but we get up at 6 o'clock, come here and vote. Please learn from us. Voting is a sacred part of democracy. Any democracy where there are no voters is not a healthy democracy at all. You should respect voting and you should exercise your power in case you want to change, development, projects to be implemented," Murthy said. 

#WATCH | Jayanagar, Bengaluru | Sudha Murty gives a message to young voters after casting her vote; says, "Please look at us. We are oldies but we get up at 6 o'clock, come here and vote. Please learn from us. Voting is a sacred part of democracy..."#KarnatakaElections pic.twitter.com/B1ecZCH93M

— ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2023

EC sets polling target of 65 per cent for Bengaluru

In the wake of the low voter turnout trend in India’s IT capital Bengaluru, the election commission under an initiative in this year’s assembly elections in the state has set a 65 per cent voting target for Bengaluru. The voter percentage in Bengaluru was 62 and 57 per cent respectively in 2013 and 2018. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it was even lower at 54.1 per cent. According to the records published by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Karnataka has 1.17 million first-time voters and Bengaluru Urban has 61,602 voters. The millennials who have shown their ignorance towards exercising their franchise also contribute to the low voter turnout in India’s IT capital. 

As per records Bommanahalli, BTM Layout, KR Puram, and CV Raman Nagar - the IT clusters coming under various constituencies have historically recorded a lukewarm response from the voters. However Old areas including Jayanagar, Padmanabhanagar, and Chickpet, have high polling percentages.    

The election body has reached out to Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) and tech parks in places like Outer Ring Road, Electronics City, industrial areas, garment factories, and colleges to make the voters aware of the importance of voting. Some other initiatives used for enhancing the importance of voting include walkathons, street plays, awareness campaigns on buses, Metro, theatres, and even used garbage collection vehicles.