Dip in voter turnout marks first phase of 18th LS elections | Fusion - WeRIndia

The first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections commenced with a noticeable decrease in voter turnout, sparking concerns at the Election Commission of India.

Approximately 16 crore voters were eligible to vote for 102 seats, but only about 65.5% turned out, a fall from 70% in 2019.

This downturn was evident in 19 out of the 21 states and Union Territories involved in this phase.

Tamil Nadu, which had 39 seats in contention, saw its voter participation drop from 72.44% to 69.46%. Similarly, Uttarakhand’s turnout decreased dramatically by nearly six percentage points.

In contrast, Meghalaya and the single seat in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar saw slight increases.

The Election Commission had employed numerous strategies to boost voter engagement, including collaborations with celebrities and the BCCI to reach IPL audiences.

Despite these efforts, nearly all constituencies except for about 10 witnessed lower voter participation. An estimated 48 lakh fewer voters showed up compared to the previous election.

Several factors contributed to this trend. Intense heat, a busy wedding season, and a general lack of enthusiasm were cited across different regions.

For instance, Tamil Nadu’s political leaders pointed to extreme temperatures and a lukewarm response to a three-cornered contest as primary reasons.

Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand, the significant wedding activity on April 18 and harsh sunlight were noted as major deterrents to higher voter turnout.

The urban-rural divide was also prominent. Urban areas like Chennai Central recorded markedly lower turnout rates compared to more rural settings such as Dharmapuri.

Despite the overall decrease, a few constituencies like Kallakurichi and Villupuram bucked the trend with slight increases in voter turnout.

Officials remain concerned about how to encourage higher participation in the upcoming phases, especially with rising temperatures posing an additional challenge.

The first phase often sets the tone for subsequent voting phases, making the observed decline particularly troubling for the Election Commission. This is because it aims to reverse this trend in the next six phases of the election.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pxhere (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Reference: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1453473