Over half of the respondents (51.1%) stated that they had been motivated to vote because the candidate was good.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
While political events harp on their vote banks, a baseline survey commissioned by the workplace of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka signifies that political party sympathy is a minor motivating issue for voters to take part in elections.
A crew of researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), led by S. Madheswaran, professor and head of the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy at ISEC, surveyed 4,452 folks from 45 Assembly constituencies unfold over 23 districts.
The Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) Baseline Survey 2023 captures the respondents’ perspective in direction of elections because it displays their motivations and influencing factors. This survey revealed that party sympathy is a motivating issue for 4.4% of respondents. This side was discovered to be extra necessary in city areas at 5.6%, as in opposition to 3.2% in rural areas.
The survey exhibits that on the combination degree, a bigger share of respondents (79.3%) have reported that crucial motive for voting is that they take into account it their proper or duty.
‘Good’ candidate
Over half of the respondents (51.1%) stated that they had been motivated to vote because the candidate was good. Other necessary motivations embody: “I got registered on the electoral roll” (13.1%), “the candidate was of my choice and from my community and religion” (6.9%); “I wanted to defeat a particular candidate and/or a political party (5.4%)”. The respondents got a number of alternative questions.
Men are extra influenced by mates, with 5.8% having reported that they voted as a result of they had been influenced to vote, whereas amongst ladies, that stood at 3.8%. While 3.1% of the respondents stated that they forged their vote due to menace or coercion, 4.5% stated that they voted as a result of the top of their household requested them to vote.
Senior residents vs. kids
Among senior residents (respondents aged 61 years and above), voting without any consideration/duty (84.2%), adopted by the selection of a good candidate (55.3%) had been the 2 main causes to take part within the election course of, the survey exhibits. On the opposite hand, casting a vote due to menace or coercion (0.5%) and being influenced by a free supply of cash or liquor, had been the least possible causes for this group of respondents to impede their voting participation, as per the survey.
B.P. Vani, affiliate professor on the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, ISEC, who’s the co-author of the survey, stated that younger voters within the 18 to 25 years cohort appeared to give comparatively much less significance to casting their vote. As in opposition to 97.7% of senior residents, solely 71.2% of younger voters participated within the electoral course of, she stated, quoting the survey. “This, despite all efforts by the Election Commission to increase awareness among youth,” she identified.
No id card
Lack of an electoral id card was a serious motive for 64.7% of eligible voters not voting within the elections. This was adopted by not receiving a voter slip since they didn’t belong to that individual constituent meeting, with 20.5% of whole respondents giving this as their motive for not casting a vote, she added.
