Women outnumbered men in voter turnout across all 14 Assembly constituencies in Ernakulam district in the polling held on April 9.

According to the final figures, 10.22 lakh women exercised their franchise in the district as against 9.78 lakh men. While the figures could be a direct reflection of the gender ratio of electors in the district, the percentage of women who voted saw a surge in several constituencies. There are 12,85,112 female voters, 12,18,709 male voters, and 27 transgender voters in the district.

The number of men who turned up for voting was higher than that of women in 11 constituencies in the district in the 2021 Assembly polls. The segments are Perumbavoor, Angamaly, Vypeen, Kochi, Thripunithura, Ernakulam, Thrikkakara, Kunnathunad, Piravom, Muvattupuzha, and Kothamangalam. Notably, just like this time, all the 14 segments had more women enrolled as voters than men in 2021, too.

Six of the 14 constituencies recorded a turnout of over 80% of female electors this time, with Kunnathunad topping the list with 83.85%. The other segments that saw over 80% of women voters turning up at polling stations are Perumbavoor, Aluva, Kalamassery, Paravur, Vypeen, and Thripunithura.

Perumbavoor saw the female voter turnout jump from 74.30% in 2021 to 80.09% this time, while Aluva witnessed a sharp increase from 73.74% to 81.27%. Kalamassery marked a difference of 7.94 percentage points from 74.32 in 2021 to 82.26%. In Paravur, the corresponding figures stood at 75% and 81.79%. Vypeen saw the polling percentage of women going up to 80.52% from 71.98% five years ago. Thripunithura also saw a rise of over 10 percentage points from 70.25% to 80.60%.

Ernakulam and Thrikkakara, covering key urban areas of the district, also recorded a higher turnout of women electors. While Ernakulam saw the percentage jump up to 77% from 63.67%, in Thrikkakara, 77.93% of women voters turned up for voting this time, against 66.45% in 2021.

The overall polling percentage in the two city segments had also seen a sharp increase this time. While Ernakulam recorded 78.17% of polling this time against 67.21% in 2021, the corresponding figures for Thrikkakara stood at 78.85% and 70.5%.

Asked about the purported trend of women outnumbering men in voter turnout, Sajad Ibrahim K.M., Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala, pointed to the similar scenario in 2019 when the controversy over Sabarimala women’s entry was a key issue during the Lok Sabha elections.

“It is yet to be clear if there is any underlying factor behind the higher turnout of women voters reported this time. There was no visible common factor like the Sabarimala issue of 2019. Though one may cite the promise of free ride for women in KSRTC buses promised by the UDF in its manifesto, it did not appear to trigger much of a discussion among the electorate,” Mr. Ibrahim said. He, however, stressed the steady increase in the participation of women in electoral politics compared to previous elections.