Relevance: GS 2(Elections )
- This includes 5,35,825 postal votes and 5,22,513 votes cast on electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Voter Registration and Turnout:
- Voter registration saw a significant increase, with 97.97 crore citizens registered, up from 91.19 crore in 2019 (7.43% increase).
- The voter turnout reached 64.64 crore, with 63.89 crore valid votes.
Other Voting Irregularities:
- Three proxy votes were recorded.
- 9,634 tendered votes were cast, meaning impersonation of voters occurred at some polling stations.
Polling Stations and Re-Polling:
- The election had 10,51,016 polling stations, with an average of 930 electors per station.
- Re-polling was conducted at 40 polling stations.
Candidates and Nominations:
- A total of 12,459 nominations were filed, but only 8,360 candidates qualified to contest.
- 7,190 candidates (86%) lost their deposits after failing to secure one-sixth of the votes polled.
Independent Candidates:
- Among 3,921 independent candidates, only seven won. None of the 279 women independent candidates won.
Women Voters and Candidates:
- The number of women candidates increased to 800 in 2024, from 726 in 2019.
- The number of female voters also rose to 47.63 crore in 2024, up from 43.85 crore in 2019.
- Female voter turnout increased marginally from 65.55% to 65.78%.
Political Parties’ Performance:
- Six national parties, including BJP, Congress, and CPI(M), together secured more than 63% of the total valid votes.
- The election also saw participation from 47 recognised state parties and 690 registered unrecognised political parties.
