Phase V: Women outnumber men as turnout rises to 62.2%

The voter turnout in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls held on May 20 has now climbed to 62.2 percent, the Election Commission said on Thursday with women outnumbering men.

According to an EC statement, 61.48 percent of the registered male voters turned up at the polling stations as compared to 63 percent of female electors.

In phase 5, 49 seats across six states and two union territories went for polling where over 8.95 crore people, including 4.69 crore men, 4.26 crore women and 5409 third gender were eligible to vote.

The participation of women in voting was higher as compared to men in Bihar, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.

The male-female turnout gap was wide in Bihar and Jharkhand. While in Bihar, the male turnout was 52.42 percent, the female turnout was 61.58 percent.

Similarly, in Jharkhand, the male turnout was registered at 58.08 percent, while the female turnout was 68.65 percent.

A maximum of 38.22 percent of voters registered in the third gender category turned out to vote in West Bengal.

EC noted that repolls at two polling stations in the Kandhamal parliamentary constituency in Odisha will be concluded on Thursday and the figures "may" change accordingly, once the data is updated for post-repoll.

In the corresponding phase in the 2019 polls, the turnout was registered at 64.16 percent when 51 seats across seven states went to polls.

According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout in the fourth phase stood at 69.16 percent, 3.65 percentage points higher than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

The voter turnout figures for the third phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections was 65.68 percent.

In the third phase of the 2019 elections, the turnout was 68.4 percent.

In the second phase of the 2024 elections, the turnout was recorded at 66.71 percent as against 69.64 percent in the second phase of the 2019 polls.

In the first phase of the ongoing general elections, a 66.14 percent turnout was recorded. In the 2019 polls, the turnout in the first phase was 69.43 percent.

The poll panel has 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.