In the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, held on Monday, May 20, voter turnout in 49 constituencies across eight states and Union Territories was estimated at 60.48% as of Tuesday, May 21. The final turnout figures are expected to be released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) by Friday, May 25.
On Monday night, the ECI reported an approximate turnout of 60.09% following the day’s polling. This figure was expected to rise as reports from all polling stations were verified and added. By Tuesday noon, the ECI’s Voter Turnout app indicated the turnout had increased to 60.48%, slightly lower than the 61.82% recorded in these constituencies in 2019.
The trend of increased voter participation in Jammu and Kashmir continued on Monday, with Baramulla showing a significant rise from 34.3% in 2019 to 58.17% as of Tuesday noon. While voter turnout has generally increased across Jammu and Kashmir, constituency boundaries were altered in 2022 due to delimitation, complicating direct seat-wise comparisons.
Among the eight states and Union Territories in this phase, only Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh experienced higher turnout compared to 2019, based on Tuesday’s estimates. West Bengal had the highest turnout among these areas at 76.05%, though this was nearly four percentage points lower than in 2019.
In Uttar Pradesh, the turnout for the 14 seats contested in the fifth phase was 57.79%, just shy of the 2019 turnout of 58.38%. In Amethi, where BJP MP Smriti Irani contested against Congress candidate K L Sharma, the turnout was 54.15%. In Raebareli, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested, the turnout was 57.85%.
The fifth phase also marked the completion of voting for all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, including 13 seats in this phase. Maharashtra recorded the lowest voter turnout among the eight states and Union Territories at 54.33%, followed closely by Bihar at 54.85%.
Approximately 80% of the Lok Sabha constituencies have voted so far, with two phases remaining. The final two phases will see 115 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats go to the polls: 58 seats in the sixth phase on May 25 and 57 seats in the seventh phase on June 1. The nationwide counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.
