Women electors continuing to exercise their franchise at a marginally higher rate than that of men for the third consecutive time in general elections has indicated that the gender gap in respect of turnout, which was once prominent in the State, is disappearing.
According to the data available with the Election Commission (EC), the turnout among men was relatively higher than that among women for several decades, right from the first election to the Lok Sabha in 1951-52. For this analysis, the percentage of turnout among women and men in the last 12 general elections held in the State since 1980 has been considered.
In 1980, the electorate of the State was 2.81 crore, of whom 1.40 crore were women. In the period taken up for analysis, the electorate in the State increased by nearly 2.2 times. In the 2024 general election, the electorate stood at 6.23 crore, of whom 3.1 crore were women.
