‘Three constituencies in Bengal see spurt in female electorate’

In 2019, only one constituency, Dum Dum, had a higher number of female electors compared to males

KOLKATA: The female electorate within the state has witnessed a notable increase over the past five years with three constituencies — Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Hooghly — displaying a higher number of female voters than their male counterparts as per latest data of the Election Commission (EC). In 2019, only one constituency, Dum Dum, had a higher number of female electors compared to males. Interestingly, in ten other Parliamentary constituencies, the margin between male and female voters is less than 20,000, indicating a significant influence wielded by female voters in nearly one-third of the 42 constituencies in the state.

The overall population of electors surged from 70,001,284 to 75,925,571 between the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 2024, reflecting a growth rate of 8.4 per cent. The growth rate of the female voters in the state has been 9.6 per cent with the number of fairer sex voters surging from 34,048,666 to 37,351,345. In the case of male electors that number has gone up from 35,951,289 to 38,572,457, indicating a growth rate of 7.2 per cent.

According to Commission sources, there are at least ten more Parliamentary constituencies where the margin between male and female voters is less than one per cent. For instance, in Jhargram, the variance is a mere 391, constituting a minuscule 0.02 per cent. Interestingly, in 2019, there were 17,247 more male voters in this constituency.

Similarly, Darjeeling has a difference of 2,289 voters, amounting to just 0.12 per cent of the total electorate. In 2019, there were 24,089 more male voters in Darjeeling than female electors.

Alipurduar mirrors this pattern with a difference of 4,848 voters, representing only 0.27 per cent of the total voter base. In 2019, there were 24,276 more male electors in this constituency compared to their female counterparts. The other constituencies with variances of less than 20,000 voters, include Malda South, Barasat, Serampore, Medinipur, Bankura, Burdwan-Durgapur and Birbhum.

“Economic empowerment is one of the main reasons behind increased women participation in the electoral process and the Bengal government played a very important role. The government schemes like Kanyashree, Lakshmir Bhandar, Swasthya Sathi, Widow Pension have contributed to this rise in electoral roll among female electors,” a political analyst said.

According to data available with the commission, female voters have surged by 9.3 per cent this year across the country since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On the contrary, male voters have increased by 6.9 per cent. “There has been a nationwide positive shift in gender ratio in the last five years where it has increased from 928 in 2019 to 948 in 2024 but in Bengal it is far better. In 2019 the gender ratio in the state was 949 but it has increased to a whopping 968 this time — the improvement perhaps best in the country,” a senior official of the Commission said. Infact, women voters outnumber male voters in twelve states and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.