The tribal seats may have registered some of the highest turnouts in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections in the state. But two of the tribal and tribal dominated seats have actually seen a dip in voting percentage from what it was in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Of the six tribal seats, four are reserved for tribals while two have a substantial population of tribals. Of the six seats, four saw an increase compared to the last Lok Sabha polls while the other two saw a decline.
Dahod, Chhota Udepur, Bardoli, Valsad and Sabarkantha are the four tribal seats while Bharuch and Sabarkantha have a substantial population of tribals.
Of these, Valsad, Chhota Udepur and Dahod saw an increase while the rest saw a decline. In Valsad, the voting percentage increased from 74.28% in 2014 to 75.21% this year while in Chhota Udepur it went up from 71.71% to 73.44%. In Sabarkantha too it went up from 67.12% to 67.24%, a minuscule surge.
Dahod saw a surge from 63.85% to 66.18%. In Bharuch, it went down from 74.85% to 73.21% while in Bardoli it dipped from 74.94% to 73.57%.
Vipul Pandya, of Bandhkam Mazdoor Sangathan, an organisation that works with migrant labourers many of whom come from the tribal districts of the state to work in cities here said the surge in voting in tribal areas doesn't come as a surprise. "Every election many tribals lose out on their voting rights because they are somewhere else in search of livelihood. But this year two things happened simultaneously. First Holi was in March which is the time when most tribals go home for their holidays. The election timing also coincided with the marriage season for many tribals," said Pandya. He said this ensured that the tribals stay in their native place for longer thus ensuring that they get a chance to exercise their franchise.
"I have talked to many tribals to know if they had voted and found that compared to earlier years many have actually managed to vote. I think Holi, marriage season helped a lot," said Pandya.
TURNOUT
- Overall, the six constituencies that are either reserved for tribals or have substantial population of tribals, saw an overall average voting percentage of 77 per cent against an average turnout of 64.11 per cent for the state.
