AP Female Voters Surge: 1.12 lakh more than 2019, women outnumbered men in many Assembly seats

Amaravati: Women voters outnumbered their male counterparts in the recently concluded polling for the Assembly and Parliament elections in Andhra Pradesh, according to the data from the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The total number of voters who cast votes includes 11.2 lakh more female voters than in the 2019 elections. Similarly, there were 8.85 lakh more male voters for the 2024 elections.

Of the total voters, 16,430,359 were males and 16,908,684 were females. The voter turnout in 2019 polls was 79.88 per cent, with 15,545,211 male and 15,787,759 female voters.

Breakdown of data by Assembly seats

There were several constituencies where female voters outnumbered male voters.

As per the data given by the ECI, here are the Assembly constituencies where votes polled by female voters (in lakhs) were more than male voters:

Polavaram (112,142), Chintalpudi (112,050), Penamulur (119,933), Vijayawada East (123,143), Vijayawada Central (103,380), Pedakurapadu (109,469), Prathipadu (113,375), Sattenapalli (107,381), Vinukonda (119,263), Darsi (101,860), Ongole (105,128), Kodur (101,031), Icchapuram (102,731), Etcherla (101,147), Bhimili (140,446), Gakjuwaka (118,105), Payakraopeta (104,214), Pithapuram (101,438), Kakinada rural (101,558), Jammalamadugu (107,449), Proddatur (102,062), Dharmavaram (109,427), Srikalahasthi (105,930), Palamaner (117,862), and Kuppam (101,608).

Is the ruling YSRCP banking on schemes?

The ruling YSR Congress party is quite confident that the welfare schemes being implemented by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in the last four and a half years would bring him back to power for a second consecutive term.

The welfare schemes of YSRCP were aimed to reach every section of society, beginning from ‘Amma Vodi’ for mothers who send their children to schools, ‘Rythu Bharosa’ for farmers, pensions for the old-aged and disabled, ‘Vidya Deevena’ for students in the form of fee reimbursement and the YSR Sunna Vaddi scheme for women’s self-help groups. These schemes are designed to benefit women and increase the number of women voters in favour of the ruling party.

While around 20 million people are said to have benefited from DBT and non-DBT schemes each year, the 2024 election manifesto promised to increase Amma Vodi funds to Rs 17,000 from Rs 15,000, enhance YSR Rythu Bharosa aid from Rs 13,500 to Rs 16,500 and promised a paid internship for Rs 3,000 for girls while they undergo training in skill hubs across AP.

Speaking to NewsMeter, a women voter said, “I have been availing government schemes introduced by YS Jagan and the good part is money from DBT schemes are directly credited into the accounts rather than being distributed through middlemen. The government schemes are one of the reasons I voted. I have seen many people who did not cast their vote just because no schemes were benefitting them.”

In the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) election manifesto, the party promised free travel for women in state-run RTC buses, similar to what the Karnataka and Telangana governments have implemented after promising them in their manifestoes.

The ‘Super Six’ of the TDP manifesto included promises for 20 lakh jobs for the youth, an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, Rs 15,000 per year to all school-going students, Rs 1,500 per month to all women in the age group of 19-59 years and three gas cylinders per household every year.

These political promises may have had an impact on women voters urging them to vote.

“If we take YSRCP, the Amma Vodi scheme is very helpful. TDP’s promise to provide free bus travel for women is an interesting scheme which brings female voters to polling booths. I voted for the hope that the new government will bring development which can help women in a better way,” said Anusha, a voter from Visakhapatnam.

AP saw highest voter turnout among first 4 phases of elections

The AP elections, held in a single phase on May 13 for 175 Assembly and 25 Parliamentary constituencies, had a total poll percentage of 81.86 per cent, including postal ballots. This is the highest voting percentage compared to any state that has gone to the polls during the first four phases of voting so far. The polling percentage in 2019 was 79.77 per cent.

The data showed that 3,33,40,560 crore voters cast their votes for the 25 AP Lok Sabha seats. The highest voting percentage was recorded in Ongole at 87.06 per cent, while the lowest was in Visakhapatnam at 71.11 per cent.

In Assembly polls voting, a total of 3,33,50,332 crore voters cast their vote for the 175 Assembly constituencies in the state.