RANCHI: In a major achievement towards women empowerment, female voters have outnumbered male in registering themselves as first time voters on all 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand. According to the data provided by ECI, a sharp decline has also been seen in the registration of young men as compared to women in the last 2019 and 2024 elections.
Be it the exodus of youths from Jharkhand or growing awareness among young voters, women have left young men far behind in the registration of new voters of 18 to 19 years in the state.
As ECI data, the number of new voters in the age group of 18-19 years in 2019 elections was 5,49,619, whereas, in 2024, the number of young voters is 1,184,150. Moreover, the number of new male voters in this election has decreased by 10 per cent compared to the last elections, while the number of young women as first time voters has increased by 10 per cent in this election compared to the last ones.
The data released by the ECI, in the year 2019, the number of youths was higher in 71 out of 81 assembly constituencies of the state, whereas, in 2024, women have left men behind in all the 81 assembly constituencies of the state. In the year 2019, a total of 5,49,619 voters in the age group of 18-19 got their names registered as voters, where men were 54 per cent, while the percentage of women was just 46 per cent.
Whereas in 2024, this figure has been reversed, where, a total of 11,84,150 voters in the age group of 18-19 registered themselves as first time voters, in which, the men are about 44 per cent, while the percentage of women has increased up to 56.
According to Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, registration of female voters are seen more than the male voters in the age group of 18-19 years, as most of the males in that age group have migrated out of the state for different reasons, be it employment or for some other reasons.
“Since, migration of male population in this age group is seen more than females, registration of women has taken place more than the men as first time voters,” said the Chief Electoral Officer. In 2019, women were lagging behind in 69 assembly constituencies, but now they have outnumbered them, he added.