In an electoral trend that is being closely watched by political parties, women voters have been more enthusiastic than their male counterparts about exercising their franchise in the current round of Assembly elections.
In the states that have gone to polls so far in the ongoing round of elections, women have by coming out in record numbers and also outnumbering male voters in several constituencies shown that they are keen to play a decisive role in elections.
In Madhya Pradesh, the percentage of women voters who exercised their right to vote stood at 76.03 per cent, up from 74.03 per cent in the previous election. On the whole, the polling percentage of male voters was better at 78.21 per cent. However, women voters who came out to vote outnumbered the male voters in 32 constituencies in the state.
In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, the poll percentage this time dropped slightly compared to 2018 – from 76.88 per cent in the previous election to 76.31 per cent this time round. The same trend was witnessed in the gender-specific numbers, with 76.2 per cent women voters coming out to vote as compared to 76.4 per cent in 2018. With regard to male voters, the turnout was 76.4 per cent as compared to 76.6 per cent in the previous election. However, the number of women voters who cast their votes was higher than men in 50 out of the 90 seats in the state.
In Rajasthan, 74.72 per cent of the women voters came out to vote, while the figure stood at 74.67 per cent in 2018. On the other hand, the number of male voters went down from a turnout of 74.75 per cent in 2018 to 74.53 per cent in this election. In 86 out of the 199 constituencies that went to polls in the state, the number of women voters was higher than the male voters.
The scenario was no different in Mizoram, where 81.25 per cent of the women voters cast their votes as compared to the 80.04 per cent of the men who exercised their franchise.
In keeping with the rise in the number of women who are coming out to vote, political parties are reaching out to the women voters, keeping their issues at the centre of the campaign and making a slew of promises to them. For example, both the Congress and the BJP have made a number of promises that cater to the women, such as monthly allowances and cheaper gas cylinders.
