E-Paper
Haryana polls: In turnout, women emerging as equals
As Haryana set a new voting turnout record in the assembly elections held on Wednesday at 76.54% — a figure confirmed by the Election Commission — there was a heartening trend visible when one compared the turnout by women to that by men.
As Haryana set a new voting turnout record in the assembly elections held on Wednesday at 76.54% — a figure confirmed by the Election Commission — there was a heartening trend visible when one compared the turnout by women to that by men.
While men too set a new record at 77.11% and women at 75.87%, the gap between the two narrowed down to just over 1%. This is particularly heartening in a state infamous for its low sex ratio, at 879 females per 1,000 males.
In the state’s first assembly election in 1967, the year after Haryana’s formation upon Punjab’s reorganization, 69.62 % woman voters exercised their franchise. The figure for men at that time was significantly higher, at 75.33%. The overall figure for the 1967 polls was 72.65%, the record that was broken on Wednesday.
The women turnout was 71.11 % in 2009, and the lowest was in 1968 polls at 54.33%. The difference between the male turnout and female turnout was usually 2% and more.
This time, as that gap too narrowed, turnout of female voters was more than 80% in at least 29 of the 90 assembly constituencies. More interestingly, there were 23 constituencies in which female voter turnout surpassed the males’.
These included Pehowa, (81.79% female and 80.66% male), Guhla (81.2% female, 80.83% male), in Kalayat (83.05%, 82.1%), in Ganaur (78.49%, 78.14%), Safidon (83.44%, 82.93%), and Jind (76.42%, 75.47%).
District on top
Sirsa: With an all-time high polling of 84.3%, the highest in the state, Sirsa district created history amid stray incidents of violence in many parts of the region.
Electoral officer Anshaj Singh said, “Sirsa registered the highest poll percentage in its history this time. I am thankful to all the people of the district who participated in the election and exercised their right to vote.”
He said polling was largely peaceful because of the efforts of religious, social, educational institutions and districts officials and social activists.
Over 8.5 lakh voters in the district covering five assembly segments were eligible to vote in Wednesday’s polls.
Within Sirsa district, Dabwali segment recorded 84.4% voter turnout, Ellenabad 89%, Kalanwali 83.8%, Rania 87.9% and Sirsa 77.1%.