Bengaluru: In a bid to improve voting percentage in Bengaluru, a mobile application has been developed by the Election Commission of India which will help voters to know about the queues outside polling stations while sitting at their homes.
The voter turnout in Bengaluru has been on a lower note when compared to its rest of the rural state and other cities during the past decade. Not once, this trend has been bucked since 2014.
According to the ECI officials, the App would encourage the voters as it would give the voters the time it would take for them to caste their votes by sharing the details of the existing queues. People have been blaming long queues in front of polling stations for their non-participation in the elections, the official said. In addition, it will come in handy for people who hesitate to step out in the unforgiving summer heat to exercise their franchise.
Explaining about the App, a senior official said the App will deliver the real-time status of the queue in the chosen polling booth and parking availability in the particular booth they select. This system will also help senior citizens and those who are unwell as they can keep tracking the status of the queue and can come to the polling booth to cast their votes as and when the queue is short and moves seamless, the official added.
Bengaluru District Election Officer Tushar Girinath said, "Low voter turnout especially in urban areas has become a major challenge. People hesitate to come out of their homes to cast their votes due to long queues and no parking space. It becomes a hassle for them. This application will provide them with real-time updates on a particular polling booth. This will encourage people to exercise their franchise."
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Girinath, who is also Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner, said the seats in Bengaluru recorded only 55.04 percent voting in the 2018 assembly elections. This App will give urban voters, who avoid coming out of their homes to cast votes due to long queues, an opportunity to see the real-time situation in a particular polling booth and then proceed accordingly. We are also marking parking areas which are near to the polling station.
