Men vote more than women in AP

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: They outnumbered men in the electoral charts but, when it came to casting their votes, women turned up in fewer numbers than men in Andhra Pradesh in this year’s elections.
In both the phases of polling in the state on April 16 and 23, men voted in large numbers as compared to women.
Figures released by the state Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao revealed that 73.64 per cent of the 2.86 crore male voters exercised their franchise while 70.90 per cent of the 2.92 crore females cast their votes. The overall polling percentage reported in the state was 72.26, indicating that 1,60,54,230 of the total 5,78,66,605 voters did not exercise their franchise in this elections, according to the CEO.
“The overall polling percentage in the state increased from 69.72 in 2004 general elections to 72.26 now,” Subba Rao added.
As compared to 2004, the percentage of women voters increased by 3.9 and men by just 1.6 per cent. In 2004, 67 per cent women and 72 per cent men cast their votes.
In Mahbubabad (ST) Lok Sabha constituency, where 78.23 per cent polling was recorded, men outnumbered women by more than 40 per cent with 6,20,077 casting their votes as against 3,69,468 women.
In 20 Lok Sabha segments spread across the state, however, the number of women who cast their votes was higher than men.
The state saw an increase of 60 lakh in the number of electors this year, majority of whom are first-timers. Interestingly, the number of votes polled increased by about 60 lakh as compared to 2004, indicating that youths exercised their franchise in strong numbers. This may cheer up political parties that targeted the youth as their prime vote bank followed by women. But with the percentage of women voters remaining less, the parties may feel the pinch in the final analysis.