94 seats see dip in vote count from 2019; overall turnout down by 1.5 pc points

The Lok Sabha elections so far have seen a 1.55 percentage-point decrease in turnout compared to 2019, with 65% of the constituencies seeing a dip in turnout in percentage points and 20% of them witnessing a decrease in absolute numbers of voters as well.

The six phases of polling so far have recorded an overall turnout of 65.63% – 1.55 percentage points down from 67.18% in the same seats in 2019, according to Election Commission data released Tuesday.

While polling is complete in 485 seats out of the total 543 – the last phase is June 1 – the overall turnout figures for six phases do not include 14 seats of Assam and 5 of Jammu & Kashmir, where delimitation has changed boundaries since the last election.

As many as 94 of the 466 seats saw a decrease in the absolute number of voters this time compared to 2019.

Nagaland had the highest decrease in the number of voters (over 2.41 lakh). Mathura, Sidhi, Khajuraho, Pathanamithitta, Baghpat (UP) and Jabalpur (MP) saw a decrease of over 1 lakh voters each.

Of the 466 seats, voter turnout percentages declined in 301 constituencies compared to 2019.

However, given the overall increase in the total number of eligible voters across the country – from 91 crore in 2019 to 96.8 crore in 2024 – a dip in turnout percentage doesn’t necessarily mean fewer people voted. In fact, over 2.4 crore more voters cast their votes in these seats this time compared to 2019.

Nevertheless, in 94 (or 20.17% of the) seats, the absolute number of voters has dropped, according to an analysis by The Indian Express.

More than half of these seats are in four states – Tamil Nadu (18), Uttar Pradesh (17), Kerala (12), and Rajasthan (12). The decline is significant given that only three of the 94 seats (New Delhi,