Lok Sabha Elections: ‘Meaningless & worrying’: Why Opposition is wary of final EC voter turnout data of first 2 phases
released the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections on April 30. The announcement came 11 days after the first phase polling on April 19, and four days after the second phase on April 26. According to the poll panel’s data, the voter turnout for the first phase of polling was 66.14 per cent, marking a drop of about 4 percentage points compared to the first phase in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
Similarly, the turnout for the second phase was 66.71 per cent, reflecting a drop of about 3 percentage points compared to the 2019 elections. Also Read: 'Won't let Dalit, Adivasi, OBC reservations for Muslims in my lifetime': PM Modi The general elections are being conducted in seven phases. The remaining five phases are scheduled for May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
Vote counting will take place on June 4. The Opposition parties, including the Congress, the CPI (M) and the TMC, have questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) delay in publishing the final voter turnout numbers of the first two phases of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury raised concerns regarding the absence of absolute voter numbers in each Parliamentary constituency.
He questioned why this crucial information was not provided, stating that "percentages are meaningless unless this figure is known." Yechury expressed apprehensions about the potential manipulation of election results, emphasizing that total voter numbers could be altered during the counting process. “Total number of voters in each constituency was always available on ECI website till 2014, ECI must be transparent & put out this data," Yechury said. ‘Unusual & worrying’ Activist-p
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