May 17, 2024 01:10 AM IST
2024 Lok Sabha elections saw a turnout of 66.95% in the first four phases, with the fourth phase recording the highest turnout of 69.16%.
The overall turnout in the so-far concluded four phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is 66.95%, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a statement on Thursday. However, while the poll body did not release disaggregated data for the fourth phase, an analysis by HT shows that it had the highest voter turnout so far – 69.16%.
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In absolute terms, of the 674 million people who could have cast their ballot in the first four phases, a total of 451 million have exercised their franchise so far, ECI said.
While ECI did not give a separate number for voter turnout in the fourth phase in its press release, HT used the data published by ECI after the first three phases to determine the percentage as well as the absolute turnout in the fourth phase of polling, under which 96 seats voted across 9 states and one Union territory on Monday.
This makes the fourth phase turnout 69.16%, the highest so far among the four phases, excluding service voters. The absolute turnout in the fourth phase was 122.5 million.
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This means that the fourth phase had the highest turnout so far. The turnout in the first three phases was 66.14%, 66.71%, and 65.68%.
Because, the 69.16% turnout for the fourth phase derived from ECI’s press release is the same as what the Voter Turnout application of the ECI displayed at 6pm on May 16, HT has used the PC-level percentage turnout figures from the app to make parliamentary constituency-level comparisons.
These numbers can be used to calculate turnout for the PCs which voted in the fourth phase excluding the Srinagar PC whose boundaries have changed since the 2019 Lok Sabha election due to delimitation.
The aggregate turnout in the 95 PCs (excluding Srinagar) that voted in the fourth phase was 69.5%, the same as in 2019. In absolute terms, the turnout in these 95 PCs was 121.8 million, 7.7% more than in 2019.
This also means that the fourth phase was the only one where turnout did not fall from what the figure was in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the first three phases, the turnout percentage had declined 3.9 percentage points, 3.5 percentage points, and 1.2 percentage points, respectively. In absolute terms, the turnout had declined by 0.2% in the first phase, and grew by 1.8% and 6.2% in the second and third phase.
To be sure, not all PCs in which voted in the fourth phase saw an increase in voter turnout. It fell in 48 out of the 95 PCs for which this comparison can be made. 76% PCs in the first three phases had registered a decline in turnout percentage.
Only 18% of fourth phase PCs registered a decline in turnout of more than 2%. 63% PCs of the first three phases had registered a decline in turnout percentage of more than 2%.
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To be sure, all PC-level comparisons of turnout with that in the 2019 Lok Sabha election can only be made after excluding all Assam and Jammu and Kashmir PCs, where PC boundaries have changed since 2019 because of delimitation. Phase-level comparisons with 2019 have to exclude the Outer Manipur in addition because the PC went to polls in two separate phases.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhishek Jha is a data journalist. He analyses public data for finding news, with a focus on the environment, Indian politics and economy, and Covid-19.
