AMN / SUDHIR KUMAR
A total of 62.20 percent of voter turnout was recorded in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha Elections, which was held on the 20th of May. Among them, there were nearly 61.48 percent males, 63.00 percent females, and 21.96 percent third-gender individuals.
According to the Election Commission, the highest female voter turnout was in West Bengal with 78.43 percent, followed by Odisha with 74.77 percent. Maharashtra recorded the lowest female voter turnout of 55.32 percent, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 55.63 percent. In the third-gender category, West Bengal recorded the highest percentage with 38.22 percent voter turnout, followed by Jharkhand with 37.50 percent. Bihar recorded the lowest voter turnout in the third-gender category with only 6 percent.
The Election Commission said, that Jammu and Kashmir recorded a voter turnout of 59.10 percent, while Bihar saw a turnout of 56.76 percent, Jharkhand saw a poll percentage of 63.21 percent, Ladakh recorded 71.82 percent voter turnout, Maharashtra recorded around 56.89 percent, Odisha saw 73.50 percent voter turnout, Uttar Pradesh recorded around 58.02 percent, and West Bengal saw a turnout of around 78.45 percent.
In this phase, 49 Parliamentary Constituencies spread over six States and two Union Territories went to polls. A total of 695 candidates were in the electoral fray in this phase of elections. The voting took place peacefully in 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh, 13 of Maharashtra, seven of West Bengal, five each of Odisha and Bihar, three seats of Jharkhand along with one each in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.