Ranchi, Nov 21 (PTI) Women voters outnumbered men in both phases of Jharkhand assembly polls, with 68 out of the 81 seats recording a higher female turnout, according to election officials on Thursday.

The state witnessed an overall voter turnout of 67.74 per cent, which was 1.65 per cent higher than the 2019 poll figures. Voting took place in two phases - November 13 for 43 seats and November 20 for 38 seats.

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Of the 2.61 crore registered electors, including 1.29 crore women voters, over 1.76 crore people cast their votes. A notable 91.16 lakh women voters participated, surpassing male turnout by 5.52 lakh votes, the Election Commission said.

"Women in Jharkhand are politically aware and actively participate in the polling process. In the first phase, we saw a higher female turnout, and in the second phase, women's participation was about 2.5 lakh higher than their male counterparts," said K Ravi Kumar, state's Chief Electoral Officer.

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According to the electoral rolls, women outnumbered men in 32 of the 81 constituencies, including those of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and former CM Champai Soren. Political observers suggest that the high migration rate in the state may explain the lower male turnout.

Increased participation of women has fueled optimism among both the ruling and opposition parties.

The Congress, an ally partner in the JMM-led government, claimed that the INDIA bloc would perform better compared to previous elections due to huge participation of women.

Senior Congress leader Rajesh Thakur told PTI, "Our social welfare schemes such as farm loan waiver, free electricity up to 200 units and Maiyan Samman Yojana were welcomed by women. The way women have participated in polling, I can say that our alliance is going to perform better than last time and we will provide a strong government to the state."

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash told PTI, "It's a good sign that women have actively participated in the polling. I believe they have voted to oust the JMM-led alliance government, as crime against women increased manifold in the regime."

He claimed there was also the impact of Gogo Didi yojana, under which women would be provided Rs 2,100 per month as soon as the BJP government is formed in Jharkhand.

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