india-s-66-95-voters-cast-ballots-in-initial-4-phases

The cumulative turnout of the first 4 phases of the Lok Sabha elections has been recorded at 66.95%, the Election Commission of India on Thursday shared the data. With this, around 97 crore electors have voted so far in the ongoing electoral exercise. 

 

Below is the voter turnout of the 4 phases, as compared to 2019: 

 

Phase             2024                 2019 

One                66.14%              69.43%

Two                66.71%              69.64%

Three             65.68%              68.4%

Four               69.16%              65.51%

 

 

A total of 379 seats across 23 states and Union Territories have voted in the first four phases of elections. 

 

The EC said there is an enhanced focus on informing, motivating, and facilitating voters in the remaining three phases of the parliamentary polls and state chief electoral officers have been asked to step up measures. 

 

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, in a statement, cited, "The Commission strongly believes that partnership and collaboration are essential pillars of the voter awareness programme. It's heartening to see that on the Commission's request, different institutions, influencers, and celebrities having significant reach are working enthusiastically on a pro-bono basis." 

 

A high voter turnout, Kumar felt, would be a message from Indian voters to the world about the strength of Indian democracy. 

 

He urged voters to cast their ballot in huge numbers, as voting day is not a holiday but a day of pride to participate in the festival of democracy. 

 

The poll panel also listed out outreach efforts undertaken by various private and public bodies to enhance voter participation in the elections.

 

Banks, post offices, private entities, and telecom platforms are using their public interface to encourage registered voters to turn up at the polling stations on various voting days.