Today in Politics: PM Modi roadshow in Varanasi; and what will Phase 4 turnout be?

Four down, three to go. We are officially in the second half of the Lok Sabha elections as 96 constituencies in 10 states and Union Territories vote in the fourth phase. As in the first three phases, our eyes will peeled on, among other things, the turnout figures.

After the first two phases of the elections saw turnout falling by just under 4 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2019, the voting percentage in Phase 3 edged closer to the 2019 figure with the turnout figure for the seats that went to polls registering a 1.32 percentage point drop. The provisional figures will be out by Monday night and the final turnout data in a few days. It remains to be seen how the Opposition reacts this time given that last week saw Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raise concerns about the delay in releasing the final turnout numbers, drawing a strong response from the polling body that in turn drew a strong response from the Congress.

Recommended reading: What Election Commission told Mallikarjun Kharge on revised voter turnouts, how figures are arrived at

But leave aside the row over the timing of the release of final turnout figures, the dip in turnout has the BJP concerned. As a senior BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh told Anand Mohan J, “The central BJP team analysed the data and found that the women voters, who are the beneficiaries of the Ladli Behna scheme, did not turn up in large numbers in the first two phases as they did during the Assembly elections. Many workers also did not campaign with full force. The central leadership had to shake up the party to prevent them from being over-confident in several quarters.”

Meanwhile, here is a complete breakdown of the fourth phase by Anjishnu Das who