Lok Sabha Polls '24: 12 States Lead In Female Voter Count, Says EC

The Election Commission of India recently shared the voter gender ratio in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, with women outnumbering men in 12 States and many other States showing a  1:1 female-to-male voter ratio. For example, according to recent reports,17 of 28 constituencies in Karnataka have more women voters than men, equalling the voter-gender ratio in the State. Chief electoral officer (CEO), Karnataka, Manoj Kumar Meena told Times Of India, "All our efforts in trying to enrol every eligible person is showing in the overall ratio and while we’ve seen improvement even among young voters, that figure being significant lower has also hurt the overall ratio.”

According to reports, election officials attribute the improvement in female enrolment to extensive Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (Sveep) activities undertaken by the commission. This program put a special focus on encouraging women and marginalised communities to participate in the electoral process.

Women Voters Poised To Make A Change

In a press conference on March 16, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that a total of 47.1 crore females registered in the electoral roll in the country, summing up to 948 women to 1000 men in the country. There are 96.8 crore voters in India this year, with male voters accounting for 49.7 crore and women standing at 47.1 crore. More remarkably, there are 85.3 lakh women voters in the 18–19 age group.

The chief poll official said, "There are 12 such states where the gender ratio is over 1000, which means that the number of female voters is higher than that of male voters. It is a very healthy sign that women are also participating equally in our elections." However, it is not clear which 12 states have shown these momentous numbers.

Reportedly, one such State is Tamil Nadu, where the 3.1 crore female voters pip the 3 crore males. Moreover, in many States, the number of female voters has gone up by about 20% this poll season, reports say. These States include Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, and Manipur. 

EC Chief Kumar added, "1.89 crore new voters have joined. Out of them in the age group of 18–19 years, there are 85.3 lakh women electors." Recently, a report by the State Bank of India's economic research department (ERD) predicted that the number of female voters could surpass that of men by 2029. Additionally, the report predicted that in 2047, women's voter turnout might increase to 55% of the total population. 

However, the SBI report predicted that the number of male voters could decrease by 2047. The 2019 election had 91.2 crore eligible voters with about 43.8 crore female voters and nearly 47.3 crore male voters. The voter turnout was 67.18% of women, in contrast to 67.01% of men. These numbers exhibit an unmissable trend, where women voters are actively taking part in nation-building and carrying the responsibility of democracy.

1:1 Gender Ratio

Many States have shown equal participation of men and women in the elections. In Karnataka, 17 constituencies show women outnumbering men. These include Udupi-Chikmagalur with 1,062 women for every male voter, followed by Dakshina Kannada (1,049), Mysore (1,037), Shimoga (1,030) and Mandya (1,029). The other constituencies are Belgaum, Koppal, Bellary, Davangere, Hassan, Chitradurga, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapur, Mandya and Kolar.

The constituency with the least female participation is Bengaluru, Central with only 938 women per 1,000 men. This is followed by Bengaluru South (939), while Bengaluru North (947) is tied with Bidar and Bangalore Rural has 966.

Voting Schedule

The Election Commission announced in a press conference that voting would be conducted in seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. The results will be announced on June 4, 2024. Additionally, state assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held on April 19, and in Andhra Pradesh on May 13.