Delhi polls: In a first, turnout of women voters higher than that of men

Of the total registered women voters in the city (72.37 lakh), 60.92% voted, as compared to 60.21% of men.

The percentage of women who came out to vote as compared to their share in the electorate has been on the rise over the years, and in the 2020 polls, it nearly matched that of men.

Delhi has 70 Assembly constituencies. Only 25 of the 210 candidates fielded by the AAP, BJP and Congress were women. More than 46% of Delhi’s electorate comprises women.

As per data released by the Election Commission of India on Friday, the percentage turnout of women was higher than that of men in 40 constituencies.

This includes several constituencies in South, Southeast, Central, Northwest and Southwest Delhi.

The biggest difference, of over 5 percentage points, was seen in Okhla, where 58.2% of the registered women voters turned up against 52.5% of male voters.

The women electors in Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Kalkaji and Sangam Vihar constituencies, all held by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at present, who came out on February 5, were proportionally higher than men by at least three percentage points.

In two constituencies — Greater Kailash and Vishwas Nagar — the turnout of men and women was the same.

Delhi has had three women chief ministers since the reinstatement of a Vidhan Sabha in 1993 — BJP’s Sushma Swaraj (1998), Congress’ Sheila Dikshit (1998-2013) and AAP’s Atishi (September 2024 — till date).

The Aam Aadmi Party’s election campaign, much like that in the states of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, commenced with an announcement that non-tax-paying women would be given Rs 2,100 per month if AAP came back to power. Free bus rides for women, one of the party’s most popular schemes, was part of its poll campaign as well.

The BJP and Congress followed suit, each announcing that they would give women

Rs 2,500 per month if voted to power.