With every coming election, we count the number of voters even we do also count the number of new voters, to analyse the number of people who are voting for the very first time. But, in the world’s greatest democracy we never thought of the ratio between men and women as such.
Women participating in election is a great win for India as a nation because they have always been considered as the marginalized portion of the society, though they are those silent supporting pillars, carrying the society forward. Though woman can vote and voice their opinion on the same but the numbers were never that great, but now according to a book, we are about to make history.
According to the book The Verdict by Prannoy Roy and Dorab R Sopariwala, Lok Sabha elections of 2019 will see greater number of women voters than men. According to statistics, between Lok Sabha elections of 1962 and 2014, men’s turnout increased to a mere five percent whereas, there has been a twenty percent rise in women voters.
The revolutionary and outstanding book, The Verdict:Decoding India’s Elections, states ‘Today, the turnout of both women and men is almost the same. In fact, in State Assembly elections, women’s turnout has now overtaken men’s turnout. Women voters had a 71 per cent turnout versus 70 per cent for men.’
In 1962, only forty seven percent of the total female electorate came out to vote whereas by 2014, it is now over sixty six percent. This growth is one of those overwhelming sign of progress and prosperity, the nation is heading towards.
According to the authors, the anti-incumbency era is over.They wrote ‘India is now going through what can be called a ‘Fifty: Fifty Era’. Governments today have a 50:50 chance of being re-elected. Governments that perform are voted back. Those that do not deliver are voted out. The angry voter has given way to a wiser, more mature voter.’
They stated even ‘sea change in India’s electoral history, which has had three major turning points: pro-incumbency (1952–1977), anti-incumbency (1977–2002) and fifty: fifty (2002–2019)’.For the ruling parties though, it is tough to win elections as voters are far more wiser and smarter where they will subtly throw away non performing ones to replace with someone who can deliver well.
They even concluded, by saying that the focus will be on women of the villages, though 2019 is going to witness the most complex and important election of the decade.