Third-Gender Voter Turnout High in West Bengal Elections

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) West Bengal exhibited a remarkable participation rate among third-gender voters in the second phase of its assembly elections, with the Election Commission reporting that 91.28 percent of these electors cast their votes. In the two phases of the West Bengal elections, a total of 1,257 third-gender electors participated—465 in the first phase and 792 in the second phase. Voter turnout was at 56.79 percent in the initial phase, but it surged significantly to 91.28 percent in the subsequent phase.

Puducherry, meanwhile, reported the highest overall turnout among third-gender electors with 91.81 percent participation in its recently concluded assembly elections. The electoral body noted that Puducherry has 139 third-gender electors, of which 91.81 percent exercised their voting rights. Tamil Nadu lists 7,728 third-gender electors, with a turnout of 60.49 percent during the April 23 polls.

In other states, Assam has registered 343 third-gender electors, with a turnout of 36.84 percent, while Kerala has 277 third-gender electors, recording a turnout of 57.04 percent. Voting in Tamil Nadu took place on April 23, whereas elections in Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry were conducted on April 9. West Bengal held its polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29.

Counting of votes for all these assembly elections is scheduled for May 4. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, although more individuals registered as third-gender voters, the turnout was only 27 percent. The poll authority disclosed that 48,194 people were eligible to vote as third-gender electors in 2024, marking a 23.5 percent increase from the 39,075 registered in 2019.

However, only 13,058 of them actually cast their votes, which equates to 27 percent of the registered third-gender voters. Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla emphasized the importance of allowing third-gender individuals to register as voters in the 'Others' or 'O' category. The Election Commission now categorizes voters as 'Male', 'Female', and 'Others' or third-gender.

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