Lok Sabha Elections: Phase II [Voter Turnout Review]

The second phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 concluded on April 26, 2024. A total of 88 constituencies saw their fate sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) across 13 states. Voters of 14 constituencies in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, 8 each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, 7 in Madhya Pradesh, 5 each in Assam and Bihar, 3 each in Bengal and Chhattisgarh and 1 each in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Tripura cast their votes. As per initial plans, 89 constituencies were supposed to be contested; however, due to the death of the Bahujan Samajwadi Party’s (BSP) candidate, the election at Betul, a constituency in Madhya Pradesh was shifted to the third phase. Notably, some of the important seats were in the fray in the second round such as Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram from Kerala, and Kota in Rajasthan.

Voters Turnout Statistics

Let’s look at the official figures by the Election Commission of India (on April 30, 2024).¹

Comparisons with 2019 General Elections turnout*:

Sr. No.	State	No. of PC’s	Turnout %
Sr. No.	State	No. of PC’s	2024	2019
1	Assam	5	81.17	81.60
2	Bihar	5	59.45	57.33
3	Chhattisgarh	3	76.24	71.64
4	Jammu and Kashmir	1	72.22	44.97
5	Karnataka	14	69.56	68.81
6	Kerala	20	71.27	77.84
7	Madhya Pradesh	6	58.59	71.20
8	Maharashtra	8	62.71	61.02
9	Manipur	1	84.85	82.69
10	Rajasthan	13	65.03	66.34
11	Tripura	1	80.36	82.40
12	Uttar Pradesh	8	55.19	59.21
13	West Bengal	3	76.58	81.76
	Overall		66.71	69.17

*Turnout for 2019 is overall and not phase wise

The EC rolled out final confirmation of voting percentage on April 30, 2024, for both phases; three days after polling was done on April 26, 2024. The voter turnout remains lower than previous edition. Reasons can be cited the same as earlier, vote apathy, weather, and divisive and unscrupulous narratives during campaigns on all sides.

Region-wise Analysis:

North:

The sole constituency of Jammu witnessed a turnout of 72%; a drop of 8 points than 2019.

Uttar Pradesh has seen the lowest percentage state in this phase with 55.19 percent. Considered as the most important voting field to garner a majority in Lok Sabha, this can be a cause for concern for major alliances. It had seen 59% turnout in the last election; a drop of 4% in this rendition.

Bihar, however, showed some improvement with 59.45%. Bihar has always been a low-voting state; mainly due to the absence of primary voters who are migrant workers spread across India, who cannot always return to vote.

North-East:

A constituency each in Manipur and Tripura as well as five seats in Assam were in contention in this phase. Assam almost had similar voting as in 2019, however other states saw a drop of 2%. The participation of India’s Seven Sisters in elections has been a matter of importance of Indian democracy.

East:

Three constituencies in West Bengal saw the election happening in phase two. Voter turnout of 76.58% was recorded which is much lower than the final turnout of the entire state in 2019 at 81.76%.

Central:

Madhya Pradesh remains the poor performing state in terms of voter turnout even in this phase. From 71.02% in 2019, it recorded a turnout of only 58.59 in this edition with a decrease of 9.41 percentage.

Chhattisgarh had an increase in the voting percentage in the second phase. Three constituencies that had gone to the poll had the percentage risen by almost 5% from 71% in 2019 to 76% in 2024.

West:

Rajasthan remained almost at par with numbers in 2019, with almost half of the state having gone under EVMs in this phase.

In Maharashtra, with strongly contested seats like Nanded, Amaravati, and Parbhani in the fray; the state saw a turnout of 59.6% which was later revised to 62.71% which is much closer to the 2019 final turnout of 64.1%.

South:

Some of the most awaited contests for the opposition block were held in the state of Kerala where it is considered strongest. Important seats of Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram saw voting percentages of 73.57 and 66.47 against that of 83.8 and 76.3 in 2019 respectively. Overall Kerala accumulated 71.27% votes; a noticeable drop of almost 7%.

Karnataka, which is considered a close contest this time around, saw a rise of 1% than before. In 2019, state turnout was at 68.81%, currently for the state it stands at 69.56%. With 12 constituencies yet to see the ballot, it is hoped that this trend continues.

Conclusion

In spite of some spark of hope in states such as Karnataka, overall voting remained sluggish. Some poll officers are citing numerous reasons for low voter turnout, such as Wedding season, heat wave amongst others. Since many of the regions that saw voting were primarily farming constituencies, these families undertake marriage ceremonies during this period to avoid clashes with commitments during farming season.

“Compared to the previous Assembly elections of 2021, when the turnout was 74%, the voting of 2024 cannot be stated as very low. One of the reasons for lower turnout could be the prevailing hot weather condition in the state. On the polling day, voter turnout was rather low from 1 pm to 3 pm compared to the morning hours of voting. A detailed analysis can be made only when the final polling data is available by evening. Considering the polling percentage of 2021 Assembly elections, we cannot find a major fall in this year’s polling,’’

– Sanjay Kaul, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer.²

As a citizen it is our duty to participate in the elections, as the accountability of elected representatives can only be achieved when voter participation is maximum.

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