The impressive turnout in Sira has surprised political parties, which were expecting fewer number of people to vote, given the pandemic. Calculations on which party is likely to benefit with this turnout have commenced.
Sira reported polling of 84.54% on the day (out of the total 2.15 lakh eligible voters). This is higher than the 2018 election turnout of 84.31%. While over 1.77 lakh voted physically in the booths, 4,821 chose the postal ballot.
The initial assessment of political parties was that many people could keep away from the polls as there was a surge in COVID-19 patients in the first week of October, with Sira having the highest number of COVID-19 patients within Tumakuru district.
“We are surprised by the turnout. Across all age groups, people have come out and voted. We are still assessing the reasons for this huge turnout,” a Congress leader in Tumakuru said. According to him, many voters in Sira who work in Bengaluru and Tumakuru or other places had returned to their villages ahead of poll day to participate in voting.
Political observers believe more women than expected turned up to vote. Of the total 1.05 lakh women voters in the segment, close to 86,000 exercised their franchise.
