Panaji, April 14 (TNN): The high voter turnout of 76.82% has evoked mixed reactions, with some attributing it to higher consciousness among voters about their responsibilities and others stating that it may be a normal phenomenon after revision of the electoral rolls.
"It is because of the awareness among voters, that the voting percentage has increased. Voting is our constitutional right and everyone needs to exercise it to contribute towards better governance instead of accusing politicians," Prasad Shahapurkar, an advocate and social activist from Mandrem, said.
Agreed senior lawyer and former Lok Sabha MP Amrut Kansar, "Voters are now aware about their constitutional rights and do not want to waste it. They have realized that it is bad to abstain from voting," he said.
The awareness about their duty as citizens is rising and the number of enthusiastic youth who want to make a positive difference is also swelling, he added.
But former state election commissioner Prabhakar Timble is of the view that the April 12 polling percentage is a "normal" turnout though it has exceeded all earlier figures. The reason being, he says, is the "trimmed electoral roll" post 2009.
"The electoral roll has been trimmed by nearly 30% post the 2009 Lok Sabha elections following its extensive revision. So, whatever amount of voting has taken place after the revision of the electoral list-2012 assembly polls and the April 12 Lok Sabha elections-should be seen in light of the trimmed electoral list," Timble said.
Rahul Tripathi, assistant professor, department of political science, Goa University, stated that the high voter turnout in Goa has been on predictable lines. "It is in tune with the national trend and two factors can be attributed to it-a very proactive role of the electoral authorities in ensuring high enrolment and their systematic voter education and enrolment programme (SVEEP) campaign and people considering it important to caste their vote and contributing their bit to government formation rather than wasting the same," he said.
India's electoral democracy this way is trying to catch up with participatory democracy which for too long has been seen as synonymous with local elections alone, he added.
With inputs from Govind Kamat Maad, Keshav Naik, Suraj Kaisuvker and Gauree Malkarnekar