Migration key as gap between women, men voters in Jharkhand seats widens, hits 15.8%

The gap was particularly stark in Bihar and Jharkhand; with as many as 61.58% of the women voters casting their ballot compared to 52.42% of the men in Bihar, with the figures for Jharkhand, respectively, 68.65% and 58.08%. Both poll officials and parties in Jharkhand said one reason for this was the high migration of men from these areas for work.

Jharkhand had its first phase of voting on May 13, when the gap between turnout for women and men was 3.84%. On May 20, this rose to 6.29%.

Kodarma, apart from Chatra and Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seats, saw the biggest gap across their 16 Assembly segments – which was seen in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well. However, Kodarma particularly stood out with the difference between female and male turnout as high as 15.85% (70% to 54.15%). In 2019, the gap was 9.97%.

In the Bagodar Assembly seat falling under Kodarma, the gap was as high as 21.26%, with 74.49% turnout among women, compared to 53.23% among men.

Incidentally, Kalpana Soren, the wife of jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, is contesting a bypoll from the Gandey Assembly seat that falls under Kodarma. Seeking votes in the name of her husband, Kalpana has been drawing huge crowds, especially of women, for the JMM.

JMM leader Kalpana Soren after casting her vote in Ranchi. (PTI)

Vinod Singh, the MLA from Bagodar Assembly segment in Kodarma, who is the CPI(M-L) Liberation candidate from the Kodarma Lok Sabha seat this time, attributed the pattern of women outnumbering men voters to migration as well.

“Most men here are working outside the state. While I was campaigning in Bagodar, we got to know that just one particular village had 16 men who were migrants. Such is the condition.”

Kodarma has been a BJP stronghold, and Vinod, who is a popular MLA and ran a crowdfunded campaign, is up against Union minister Annapurna Devi from the seat. During the campaign, Vinod raised the issue of migrant labourers, and told The Indian Express: “One of the biggest problems in the area is the death of migrant labourers in other states and countries… India does not have any robust mechanism to look after their labourers working in other countries. If elected, I will fight for them.”

An EC official in the state also said migration of men for work could be a factor behind women turnout being higher. “Migrant male workers, either outside the state or within the state who are working in a different district, fear losing wages if they come home to vote,” the official said.

Another source in the state EC office said another factor is “the greater realisation among women electors to make their vote count”.

Some of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand, such as Khunti, Singhbhum, and Lohardaga, also have a higher number of women voters compared to men.

While four of the Jharkhand Lok Sabha seats (Khunti, Lohardaga, Palamau and Singhbhum) voted on May 13, three (Chatra, Kodarma and Hazaribagh) voted on May 20.

The highest women turnout so far has been in Khunti, at 70.5%, but the men were not far behind here, at 69.35%. Singbhum saw 69.95% female turnout as compared to 68.89% male; Lohardaga 68.63% female turnout, against 64.22% for men; and Palamu, 67.94 % female turnout, compared to 64.10% for men.

In the case of Chatra, Kodarma and Hazaribagh, the numbers stood at 68.06% for women and 59.50% for men; 70% for women and 54.15% for men; and 67.63% for women and 61.34% for men, respectively.

Of these Lok Sabha constituencies, only Singhbhum had higher male turnout than female (69.41% to 68.95%) in 2019. In Khunti, the figures were 68.02% and 70.09% for women and men; in Lohardaga, 63.94% and 68.04%; in Palamu, 61.63% and 66.99%; in Chatra, 61.75% and 68.02%; in Hazaribagh, 62.27% and 67.5%; and in Koderma, 61.91% and 71.88%, respectively.