LS polls this year may witness highest ever turnout of voters

New Delhi: Voters have come out in “highest-ever” numbers to cast their votes in six phases in the 349 Lok Sabha constituencies in 24 states and union territories where elections were completed, the Election Commission said today. “By this time, the national aggregate of turnout for all the elections held so far is 66 percent as against 57.53 percent for the same constituencies in 2009 Lok Sabha elections,” Election Commission Director General Akshay Rout said. [caption id=“attachment_1496061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of an elderly voter (L) who turned up to vote despite being discharged from hospital after cataract surgery. AFP[/caption] “Of course, it is the highest ever”, he told reporters reacting to a query. His statement indicates the 2014 Lok Sabha elections may witness the highest voter turn out if the trend continues. He said a total of 35 crore voters have cast their votes in the 349 constituencies in this year’s elections. In 2009 Lok Sabha polls for these constituencies, the total votes which were cast were 21.49 crores. Rout said the figures might change as repolls have been ordered in certain polling stations and postal ballots are not included and the figures will slightly increase. In Assam, the turnout is 77.41 percent, as against the 69.53 percent in last Lok Sabha polls. In Chhattisgarh, the average turnout in this election is 65 percent. It was 55.28 percent in 2009. The average turnout in Jharkhand is 62.62 percent and this is the highest ever, compared to 51.98 percent during the last polls. In Madhya Pradesh, the state average is 61 percent. It is more than 10 percent high compared to 51.16 percent in last Lok Sabha polls. The state’s highest is 61.74 percent in 1998. The turnout in Maharashtra is touching about 60 percent. In the last Lok Sabha poll, the figure was 50.71 per cent. Elections completed in Rajasthan today and the state turnout average is 62.9 percent as compared to 48.4 percent in the last Lok Sabha polls. In Tamil Nadu, turnout was 73 percent this time as against 73.03 percent in 2009. Puducherry recorded 82 percent polling this time, which is the highest in the UT as compared to 79.81 percent in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In Odisha, 74.37 percent of the voters cast their votes in this Lok Sabha elections as against 65.33 percent in the last elections. It is all-time high. Manipur has recorded the voter turn out of 80.1 percent as against 77.14 percent in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. PTI