Female turnout exceeded male participation in all three regions that went to the polls on April 9 – Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry – according to gender-wise data released by the Election Commission of India on Friday.
This was also the case in 2021, the last time all three regions saw assembly elections.
Puducherry recorded the highest female turnout at 91.40%, followed by Assam at 86.50%, and Kerala at 81.19%. In each of these regions, women voted in higher proportions than men.
In Puducherry, female turnout stood at 91.40% compared to 88.13% among men. The Union Territory’s overall turnout was 89.87%, the highest since 2011. Female turnout was 86.29% in 2011, 85.44% in 2016, and 82.20% in 2021. Male turnout was lower than female participation in each of these elections.
Assam recorded a female turnout of 86.50% against 85.33% for men, pushing the overall turnout to 85.91%, the highest ever in an assembly election in the state. In 2016, female turnout was equal to male turnout at 84.67%. In 2021, female turnout at 82.01% exceeded male turnout of 81.60%.
In Kerala, female turnout touched 81.19% compared to 75.19% for men. Overall turnout in the state stood at 78.27%, up from 76% in 2021. Women have outpolled men in each of the last two elections. In 2016, female turnout was 78.14% against 75.97% for men, while in 2021 it was 73.94% for women and 73.85% for men.
The rise in overall turnout in all three regions was also a factor of the special intensive revision in Kerala and Puducherry, and special revision in Assam, which trimmed the electoral rolls.