5 Interesting Data Points From Madhya Pradesh Electoral List: Why Tribal Women And First-Time Voters Matter

Madhya Pradesh Election Commission released the final electoral list for the upcoming assembly elections on Wednesday (4 October). Here are some interesting data points:

1. Number of female voters

Of the 5,60,60,925 general voters, 2,72,33,945 voters are female, while 2,88,25,607 voters are male. These numbers are interesting because they show a better picture than Madhya Pradesh's sex ratio.

According to 2011 census, there were 931 women per 1,000 men in the state. However, according to the latest electoral list, there are 944 women voters per 1,000 men voters.

2. Constituencies with more female voters

In 29 out of Madhya Pradesh's 230 assembly seats, female voters surpass their male counterparts, with 25 of these seats either reserved for tribal communities or possessing significant tribal populations.

This marks a notable increase from less than 10 months ago when there were only 18 seats where women voters outnumbered men, NDTV reported.

3. How these constituencies voted

Among the 29 seats where women voters outnumber men today, the Congress emerged victorious in 20 during the 2018 election, while the BJP secured eight. The remaining seat was won by an independent candidate.

4. Women turnout

Women voter turnout is continuously increasing in the state. It was 62.14 per cent in 2003, 65.91 per cent in 2008, 70.09 per cent in 2013, and a record of 74.01 per cent in 2018.

What is more interesting is the fact that the turnout of ST women voters was 77.11 per cent in 2018, more than the overall women turnout.

5. First-time voters

There are 22,36,564 first-time voters in the state. This means they form around 4 per cent of the electorate. In a state where BJP and Congress had a 0.1 per cent difference in vote share in the last elections, first-time voters become crucial.

While the BJP is trying to woo them by reminding the first-time voters that they are fortunate to have seen only the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is luring the youth through its "progressive, youth-centric" agenda.