STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections registered a voter turnout of 60.09 per cent till 11.30 pm, which was 4.07 percentage points lower than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary polls.
The Election Commission noted on Monday that this was an “approximate trend” as data from some polling stations takes time to arrive and this trend does not include postal ballots. It said the figures will continue to be updated by the field-level officers as polling parties provide more data.
In the evening, the EC lamented that constituencies in various cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Lucknow have continued the trend of “urban apathy” as noticed in the 2019 parliamentary polls.
On Sunday too, the poll panel pointed out that Mumbai, Thane and Lucknow have shown apathy towards voting in the past and asked these city dwellers to turn up at polling booths in higher numbers.
It was noted that in the past, these cities have “suffered” from urban apathy in voting.
“The Commission especially calls upon these city dwellers to erase the stigma by turning out in higher numbers,” it had said.
On May 3, while referring to the voter turnout in phase two, the EC had said it was “disappointed” with the turnout level in some metropolitan cities.
With the end of polls in the fifth phase, voting has been completed in 25 states and Union Territories and 428 constituencies. Two more phases — on May 25 and June 1 — remain.
In the fifth phase of the 2019 elections, when 51 seats across seven states went to polls, the turnout was 64.16 per cent.
According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout in the fourth phase stood at 69.16 per cent, 3.65 percentage points higher than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
The updated voter turnout figures for the third phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections was 65.68 per cent. In the third phase of the 2019 elections, the turnout was 68.4 per cent.
In the second phase of the 2024 elections, the turnout was recorded at 66.71 per cent as against 69.64 per cent in the second phase of the 2019 polls. In the first phase of the ongoing general elections, a 66.14 per cent turnout was recorded. In the 2019 polls, the turnout in the first phase was 69.43 per cent.
The poll panel said the final turnout will only be available after the results, with the counting of postal ballots and its addition to the total voting percentage.
