"83 per cent vote in Valpoi," this was what the newspaper headlines screamed in Goa on Tuesday morning (with some little variation).
As a journalist who covered elections in the past, it often struck me as strange as to how so few seem to be casting their votes in the morning, while by late evening, the figures invariably pick up to very impressive totals. For their part, the government agencies do a good job of making sure that media attention gets focussed on the arithmetical issues at the micro level rather than macro questions. Looking at Valpoi, one would think that the politician(s) involved were great statesmen. Or even that it was a very polarised election. Would anyone there have an insight into how such high numbers get reported, after almost every election in Goa? Is this statistically possible, assuming that there will be some percentage of disinterested voters, some who are not present, and others who might not support one or the other alternatives "offered" to the voter? This is not an issue of Valpoi alone, but of most constituencies. (In Valpoi's case, we are told that the Murmune booth recorded 93.3% voting! The "lowest" was at Valpoi itself, with a high "low" of 64.37%). http://oheraldo.in/news/Main%20Page%20News/83-per-cent-vote-in-Valpoi/42079.html Agreed that the poor vote more than the rich in India, a situation quite different from that, say, in the US. But if you looked at the voting percentages in Goa, you could easily come to the conclusion that there is hardly any voter disenchantment or indifference here! Which is hardly the situation... See some background here: http://oheraldo.in/news/Main%20Page%20News/83-per-cent-vote-in-Valpoi/42079.html FN Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
