Lok Sabha polls: EC ready plans to increase voter turnout by 10 UP seats | Lok Sabha Election News – Business Standard

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said voter turnout in the 2019 elections in Uttar Pradesh was quite low at 59.11 per cent even though the state has the highest number of voters | Photo: Shutterstock

The Election Commission has come up with a plan to encourage voters in Uttar Pradesh, which recorded a tepid voter turnout of 59.11 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, to exercise their franchise in the upcoming general elections.

As part of the ‘Turnout Implementation Plan’ (TIP), the poll body has shortlisted 10 of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha constituencies where the voter turnout was lower than the state’s poll percentage.

These parliamentary constituencies are Phulpur (48.57 percent), Kanpur (51.39 percent), Allahabad (51.75 percent), Shravasti (52.05 percent), Gonda (52.11 percent), Domariyaganj (52.26 percent ), Pratapgarh (53.36 percent). cent), Bhadohi (53.45 percent), Amethi (54.05 percent) and Sant Kabir Nagar (54.15 percent).

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the voter turnout in the 2019 elections in Uttar Pradesh was quite low at 59.11 per cent even though the state has the highest number of voters.

“So efforts are being made with utmost attention and in a concentrated manner… (to ensure) that more and more people register (as voters)… and then cast their votes. We call this ‘roll’ voting,” he said.

“This time, a voter turnout implementation plan has been made and constituencies and booths where voting figures are low have been shortlisted.

“Now, why the mood has been less there, the (district) collectors will go there personally to see. They will try to convince, appeal and request them (the voters) to participate in democracy ( elections),” he said.

According to the EC, the country recorded an overall voter turnout of 67 percent in the last Lok Sabha elections.

As part of TIP, Kumar on Saturday deployed three voter awareness vans that will go to 22 districts where voter turnout was low in the 2019 elections, the EC said in a statement.

It said that these Voter Awareness Express Vans to Kanpur, Prayagraj, Bhadohi, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Pratapgarh, Amethi, Rae Bareli, Ambedkar Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ghazipur, Ballia, Bahraich, Lucknow, Kaushambi, Azamgarh, shall go. Deoria, Jaunpur, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

According to EC data, there are around 15.29 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh (as on January 23). This includes 8.14 crore male voters, 7.15 crore female voters and 7,705 transgender voters.

The number of new voters (age group 18-19 years) is almost 20.41 lakh.

There are 1,62,012 polling stations in Uttar Pradesh, of which 38,959 are in urban areas. According to EC data, there are 1,23,053 polling stations in rural areas.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) won 64 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Congress got one, Bahujan Samaj Party ten and Samajwadi Party five.

First print: March 3, 2024 | 10:54 am IST