India now has nearly 970 million voters, 6% more than in 2019: European Commission

Nearly 970 million Indians will be eligible to vote in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission said on Friday.

It also said that more than 20 million young voters aged 18 to 29 have been added to the electoral rolls.

There was a 6% increase in registered voters compared to the last time the Lok Sabha polls were held in 2019. The registered voters at that time were Rs.912 million.

“India has 96.88 crore voters registered to vote, which is the largest electorate in the world,” the Election Commission said.

The gender ratio has increased from 940 in 2023 to 948 in 2024, the poll group said.

An official noted that the committee placed special emphasis on the purity and health of the electoral roll, as well as disclosure and transparency in the electoral roll revision process.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar explained the various tasks involved in revising the electoral rolls and the involvement of political parties at various stages at a press conference in Pune.

Poll authorities said more than 2.63 billion new voters have been included in the electoral rolls, of which about 1.41 billion are women, more than 15% more than the newly registered male voters (1.22 billion).

The Election Commission also highlighted that around 88.35 lakh voters with disabilities (PwD) have been marked in the electoral roll database as part of its efforts to support persons with disabilities (PwD).

It said this would ensure accessibility and inclusivity on polling day.

In 2019, the number of voters who identified people with disabilities as disabled was 4.564 million. After thorough door-to-door verification, more than Rs 165 crore of electoral rolls were permanently transferred, dead and duplicated and removed from the electoral rolls.

“This comprehensive cleanup ensures the integrity and purity of the electoral process. This includes 6.782 million dead voters, 7.511 million permanently transferred or absentee voters, and 2.205 million duplicate voters.”

According to data shared by the European Commission, the number of third-gender voters increased from 39,680 in 2014 to just over 48,000.

At the same time, more than 20 million young voters (covering the 18-19 and 20-29 age groups) have been added to the electoral rolls.

More than 1.064 million early registration applications have been received from voters over the age of 17.

People under the age of 18 will automatically receive a voter ID card once they reach voting age if they apply in advance.

While 1.85 billion voters are over the age of 80, the total number of “centenarians” (people aged 100 and over) is 238,000.

The EC considers people aged 80 and above as senior citizens. As of February 8, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of voters at Rs 1,530 crore.

Lakshadweep has over 57,000 registered voters.

According to a letter sent to political parties by the Election Commission in 2023, India had 17.32 billion registered voters in 1951, which rose to 19.37 million rupees in 1957.

In the first Lok Sabha election, the voter turnout rate was 45%.

In the last Assembly polls in 2019, it was 67%.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)