Assembly elections see high turnout, women voters outnumber men

Indian assembly elections saw a surge in voter participation, with women leading the charge in several states, according to Election Commission data.

The recently-concluded assembly elections witnessed exceptionally high voter participation across states, with women voters outnumbering men in turnout percentages, according to Election Commission data.

West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout among states, with 93.71 percent polling in 293 constituencies where counting has been completed. The state saw over 6.38 crore votes cast, including postal ballots, against a total of more than 6.81 crore electors.

Women voters recorded a turnout of 93.8 percent in the West Bengal assembly polls, slightly higher than the 92.06 percent participation among men.

The data for West Bengal does not include the figures for the Falta assembly constituency, which is scheduled for repolling.

Tamil Nadu registered an 85.01 percent turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore votes polled from an electorate of 5.74 crore. Women voters recorded a turnout of 86.2 percent, higher than the 83.77 percent among men.

Assam also witnessed robust participation, with the final turnout touching 85.74 percent. More than 2.15 crore votes were cast in the state, while female turnout at 86.53 percent marginally exceeded the 84.95 per cent recorded among male voters.

Kerala registered a turnout of 78.11 percent, with over 2.12 crore votes polled. Female voter participation stood at 81.17 percent against 74.9 percent among men.

Puducherry recorded a turnout of 89.82 percent, with women voters again leading participation at 91.39 percent. More than 8.5 lakh votes were polled in the Union territory.

Yet, women's representation among elected candidates remained modest.

Tamil Nadu elected 23 women MLAs (9.83 percent) out of 234 members, West Bengal elected 37 women legislators (12.62 percent) out of 293, while Kerala returned only 11 women MLAs (7.85 percent) in the 140-member House.

Only two third-gender candidates contested the elections - one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and both lost, forfeiting their deposits.

The elections also reflected extensive electoral mobilisation infrastructure. West Bengal had the highest number of polling stations at 85,092, followed by Tamil Nadu with 75,064 and Assam with 31,490.

In terms of candidates, Tamil Nadu saw the largest contest with 4,023 candidates in the fray across 234 constituencies, averaging 17 candidates per seat and peaking at 79 contestants in one constituency.

West Bengal pitted 2,920 candidates for 293 constituencies, while Kerala had the fewest contestants among the major states, with 883 candidates for 140 seats.

The data also showed relatively low NOTA votes across states.

Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA share at 0.4 percent of total votes polled, while Assam recorded the highest at 1.23 percent.

In West Bengal, 0.78 percent of the total votes polled were NOTA, while it 0.77 percent and 0.57 percent of the electorate opted for None of the Above (NOTA) in Puducherry and Kerala, respectively.