Madhya Pradesh records highest increase in polling percentage
In 2014, Madhya Pradesh had recorded a voter turnout of 61.57 per cent and registered an increase of 9.53 per cent as against the 2009 polls. The national average of polling stood at 67.5 per cent.
Madhya Pradesh with a polling percentage of 71.20 recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls has set a record. Madhya Pradesh has also become the state which has the highest increase in polling percentage points as compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2014, Madhya Pradesh had recorded a voter turnout of 61.57 per cent and registered an increase of 9.53 per cent as against the 2009 polls. The national average of polling stood at 67.5 per cent.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Madhya Pradesh VL Kantha Rao said that the jump in polling percentage in the state is mainly due to the increase in women voter turnout.
In 2014, the percentage of men among those who voted stood at 66.05 per cent while in 2019, this number jumped to 73.54 per cent, pointing to an increase of 7.49 per cent. Among women, the polling percentage in 2014 stood at 56.62 while in 2019, this figure jumped to 68.46 per cent, pointing to an increase of 11.84 per cent.
Within Madhya Pradesh, the highest polling percentage of 82.10 was recorded in Chhindwara where Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath is the Congress candidate. Dewas recorded the second highest turnout at 79.48 per cent.
Baffled by the jump in polling percentage in Madhya Pradesh, the political parties have tried to interpret it in their own way. Higher turnout by women is being seen as an advantage to the BJP as PM Modi, according to party sources, enjoys considerable support in this constituency owing to his women-centric schemes.
Congress, on the other hand, claims that the NYAY program also has women as beneficiaries and the increase in women turnout is due to women's appreciation of the initiative.