New Delhi: The trend of low voter turnout witnessed in the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls this election season has continued in the third phase as well, where 93 constituencies across 11 states went for polls on Tuesday, May 7.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), only 65.68% of the eligible voters exercised their franchise this time around, while the figure stood at 67.33% in 2019 in the same set of Lok Sabha seats.
The number stood as low as 60.13% across 25 parliament seats of Gujarat which voted in the third phase. Gujarat’s figures this time around are lower than the 64.51% it had recorded in 2019 and 63.66% seen in the 2014 elections. Out of 4.79 crore eligible voters in the state, only 2.85 crore cast their votes and 1.90 abstained from voting.
Updated approximate voter turnout figures for polling in third phase of #GeneralElections2024 stands at 65.68% at 10 pm tonight. pic.twitter.com/GG8pMZDken
— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) May 8, 2024
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Similarly, the voter turnout in the 11 seats of Maharashtra that went to polls in the third phase stood at 63.55%. While Kolhapur stood at the top with 63.71%, Baramati recorded the lowest turnout with 45.68%. Meanwhile, the voter turnout in Latur stood at 55.38%, Sangli at 52.56%, Hatkalangale at 62.18%, Madha at 50%, Osmanabad at 52.78%, Raigad at 50.31%, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg at 53.75%, Satara at 54.11% and Solapur at 49.17%.
The four seats of Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Murshidabad and Jangipur in West Bengal which went to polls in the third phase recorded the lowest voter turnout in the last 40 years, at 77.53%. The figure stood at 81.66% in 2019 and 81.85% in 2014.
With the conclusion of the third phase, polling is now complete in 282 out of the total 543 seats. Like the third phase, the voter turnout in the first and second phases respectively stood at 64% and 63%.
The trend of lower voter turnout continues to worry the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and revived the hopes of the Opposition INDIA bloc.
