Ranchi, Jun 2 (PTI) More women exercised their franchise than men during the four phases of Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand, Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said on Sunday.

He cited reasons behind higher women turnout to active participation by them, besides migration of men.

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Of the 2.58 crore voters in the state, 1.7 crore cast their votes in the 14 Lok Sabha seats to decide the electoral fate of 244 candidates. Of the 1.7 crore voters, 87.11 lakh were women and 83.85 lakh were men, he told reporters here.

Overall 66.19 per cent turnout was recorded in the four phases of elections in Jharkhand from May 13 to June 1.

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"The number of women voters who exercised their franchise was higher in 12 Lok Sabha seats. The number of male electors who turned up at polling stations was slightly higher in two constituencies, Ranchi and Jamshedpur," he said.

The 14 Lok Sabha seats have 81 assembly segments in Jharkhand.

"If we look at the figures assembly segments wise, women voters outnumbered men in 68 constituencies while the number of men who cast their votes was higher in only 13 assembly seats," Kumar said.

"Women actively participated in the polling process. Besides, migration of male members of households is also one of the reasons behind the disparity," he said.

Kumar said polling percentage has increased in eight Lok Sabha seats as compared to the 2019 elections but dropped in six other constituencies, mostly along the inter-state boundary with Bihar.

Voting in Jharkhand commenced on May 13 with four Lok Sabha seats of Singhbhum, Khunti, Lohardaga and Palamu going to polls. A turnout of 66.01 per cent was recorded.

The second round of polling in the state on May 20 for Chatra, Koderma, and Hazaribag Lok Sabha seats saw 64.39 per cent turnout.

On May 25, a 67.68 per cent turnout was recorded in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur seats.

The final round of voting in the state on June 1 for Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda Lok Sabha seats witnessed 70.88 per cent polling.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)