The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 has seen a voter turnout of about 66.95% so far with approximately 451 million people having voted during the first four phases.
Chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with election commissioners (ECs) Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have directed chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the states going to poll in the 5th, 6th, and 7th phases to timely distribute voter information slips to all electors and enhance outreach activities. They have also appealed to celebrities to join in the voter outreach campaigns.
On April 30, the ECI published the final voter turnout percentage which showed a sharp increase by about 5-6% as compared to the initial percentage announced. The opposition parties then questioned the ECI for the delay and flagged the alleged discrepancy in the figures as compared to what was reported on the voting days.
On May 10, the ECI in a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge dismissed the allegations of discrepancy in voter turnout data. It said that the voter turnout data was not delayed as it was available on the Voter Turnout App.
Fourth phase clocks 69.2%
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 13 saw 69.2% voter turnout, the highest among the four phases so far, latest data released by EC showed. The data also showed that more women than men voted in all three phases of polls in Bihar, where voting was held for 15 seats in the second, third and fourth phases.
Compared to the 2019 elections, the fourth phase also saw the lowest gap - 40 basis points (one percentage point equals 100 basis points) - although the turnout has dipped in all four rounds. Turn out in 2019 during the fourth phase was estimated at 69.6%, which excludes Srinagar as delimitation took place there. “We expect the voting percentage to increase further in the next three phases,” an EC official said.
Data also showed that more men cast their votes compared to women across 96 constituencies in the fourth round, with turnout of women voters being higher in the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
