‘Ensure your domestic help, driver get to cast vote’

LUCKNOW District magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar on Wednesday discussed a slew of measures to boost voter turnout in Lucknow that goes to polls on May 20 in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections. Polling will be held between 7am and 6pm. He said the district administration has introduced two online platforms - (https://boothlocation.in) and [ElectoralSearch.ECI.gov.in] - to help voters determine their booth location and check their registration status.

Gangwar urged people to free their domestic help/driver for some time to enable them to cast their vote. “There are 2 lakh voters in the unorganised sector in Lucknow who will matter a lot if enlightened citizens encourage them to cast their vote,” he said during an interactive session, ‘HT Spotlight – Elections 2024’, organised by Hindustan Times, Lucknow at its office.

The DM said a written order will be issued to the police to allow private vehicles to come within 100metres of polling stations, allowing people to carry mobile phones till there. A few private schools, which will have polling stations, will be asked to keep their air conditioners functional.

To incentivize voting, the district administration is open to the idea of allowing voters free entry to various parks of Lucknow after polling by showing their inked finger. The administration is also trying to make provisions for a third queue for the transgender community at polling booths while there will be a waiting area with chairs for voters to wait for their turn, he said.

City-based social media influencers and Fever FM also joined HT’s initiative to motivate around 40 lakh eligible voters of Lucknow to set an example by exercising their franchise in record numbers.

Lucknow has always been known for its ‘Pehle Aap’ culture. But it’s time that this is changed to ‘Pehle Hum’ (in terms of voting) to make democracy stronger than ever, said the DM, adding that polling stations will also be set up in 14 high-rise apartment complexes that have 300-800 voters.

As Mohanlalganj voters have done better than their Lucknow counterparts in terms of turnout, this time the challenge would be to up voter turnout in the state capital.

Last month, the district administration collaborated with a popular influencer Anurag Dobhal alias “Babu Bhaiya” for the same purpose at KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium where hundreds of followers gathered to catch a glimpse of the youtuber. Hindustan Times also roped in social media influencers to pursue the common cause: how to increase voter turnout in Lucknow.

‘RETURN HOME TO CAST VOTE’

Aadya Srivastava, a Lucknow-based content creator with 332K followers on Instagram, suggested that women, who recently got married and shifted to their in-laws’ place, should come back to their homes to exercise their franchise.

Saubhagya Dixit, a Lucknow-based fashion and comedy blogger known for her quirky videos in the UP dialect, expressed willingness to create content for mass voter awareness.

HOW ABOUT A THIRD QUEUE?

RJ Prateek suggested adding a third queue for transgenders, in a step towards inclusivity at the booths. RJ Rafat, a voice artiste who runs InstaRadio on Instagram, expressed her commitment to sharing authentic electoral information through her social media handles. Taking a leaf out of an initiative from Indore, she advocated incentivization of voters through perks like free entry to public parks with a show of inked fingers on election day, to which the DM gave his consent.

Saquib Khan, whose ‘I Love Lucknow’ page on Instagram has 160K followers, pointed to the need for spreading the word about the AMF (Assured Minimum Facilities) for voters at polling booths, as underscored by the DM.

FOLLOW VOTING TRENDS

Shishta Maurya, who makes videos on fashion, said she intends to encourage citizens to “follow voting trends, instead of trending trends”. She said social media will be one of the useful tools to reach out to the new-age voters who are hooked up online.

Journalist Naval Kant Sinha called upon everyone present to use hashtags like #VoteLucknow, to reach out to maximum voters. Photojournalist Ashutosh Tripathi called for attention towards the difficulty faced by certain voters due to mobile phones not being allowed inside polling centres. Though phones are strictly prohibited inside polling booths within stations, rules permit phones in other areas of stations, the DM remarked, assuring to relay the same to the police to avoid inconvenience to voters.

LKO NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Poll percentage of 2019

54.26% voter turnout in Lucknow in 2019 that was around 4.43% less than the state average of 59.21%. But it was slightly higher than 2014, when only 53.06% of voters chose to cast their vote.

35.3% voter turnout in 2004 Lok Sabha polls

35.56% turnout in 2009

*When comparing the numbers from 2014 and 2019 to the elections in the decade before that, the turnout shows an encouraging increase.

*Between 2004 and 2014, Lucknow’s voter turnout shifted from being less than 40% to well above 50%.

*But it still falls short of the national average, which is in excess of 60%.

62.46% turnout in Mohanlalganj in 2019