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The final voter turnout in the 14 constituencies that went to the polls on April 26 now stands at 69.59%. While half of the total 2,00,38,384 votes polled are by women, 667 third gender voters have exercised their franchise. Women voters outnumbered men in five of the 14 constituencies.
According to the revised data shared by the Election Commission, Bengaluru South recorded the lowest turnout at 53.17%, while Mandya has the highest turnout at 81.67%.
Overall, Bengaluru Urban district, including Anekal, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bengaluru South, and Yelahanka Assembly constituencies recorded the lowest voter turnout at 54.76% while Bengaluru Rural recorded 68.3%.
Rural women in large numbers
An analysis of Assembly constituency-wise data revealed that 69.64% of the total 1.43 crore women electors exercised their franchise. The percentage of women who have voted is much higher in rural areas compared to urban constituencies.
For example, women voting has been above 80% in all Assembly constituencies of Tumakuru (except Tumakuru city), Mandya, Chamarajanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Chickballapur, and Kolar.
In Mysuru parliamentary constituency, only three Assembly constituencies — Krishnaraja, Chamaraja, and Narasimharaja — recorded women voting at 59%, 60%, and 64%, respectively, while the remaining constituencies recorded above 70%.
Women score in Melkote
While Melkote Assembly constituency recorded the highest number of women votes polled at 86.5%, Hoskote followed with 85.3%. Several constituencies such as Magadi, Srirangapatna, Nelamangala, Ramanagara, Kanakapura, and Channapatna are among those that recorded over 83% women votes.
In Bengaluru Rural, the urban Assembly segments of Rajajeshwarinagar, Bengaluru South, and Anekal recorded less than 61% women voting, while rural segments saw a higher turnout of over 83%.
Guarantees’ impact
Mansoor Ali Khan, the Congress candidate in Bengaluru Central, attributed the pattern to the success of the Congress government’s guarantee schemes.
He said the voting pattern had been largely impacted by the Congress’ guarantee schemes. “Although political affiliation and caste/community considerations normally dictate the choices, guarantee benefits coming as a relief at a time when price rise has made life difficult for the common have impacted the voting pattern. The higher percentage of women voting in rural areas is a clear indication of the success of our guarantee schemes,” he claimed.
Higher turnout
C.N. Manjunath, BJP candidate in Bengaluru Rural, disputed the Congress’ claim and said that the voter turnout in the constituency had increased by 3.32 percentage points from 64.98% in 2019 to 68.3% this time. “There is an anti-incumbency wave and people are looking for a change. People have accepted my candidature with a lot of respect and regards. This itself will pull over 3 lakh votes in the BJP’s favour. We will see a considerable increase in our vote share in all assembly segments this time,” he said.
Dr Manjunath added that women participation was huge in all the campaign rallies and public meetings conducted by the party in the constituency.
