Unshackling the third tier

Indifference of voters to municipal corporation elections is an outcome of a serious governance flaw that needs to be fixed

A Business Standard analysis has shown that Delhi is not alone in recording a relatively low turnout of voters in municipal elections. Not just in the national capital, municipal corporations in many other Indian cities also see a lukewarm response from voters, compared to a higher turnout for the Assembly or general elections. Quite understandably, a low voter turnout in municipal elections should cause concern about electoral apathy in any democracy.

What triggered this concern early this month was the revelation that just about half the total number of eligible voters for electing 250 councillors for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi