Nagpur: Nearly four in ten registered female graduates stayed away from Friday’s Nagpur Division Graduates’ Constituency election, with the final figures revealing a significant gender gap in voter participation across all six districts.
Gadchiroli recorded the highest female turnout among all six districts, followed by Chandrapur at 66.72% and Gondia at 66.23%. Wardha registered 61.99% female participation, while Bhandara recorded 59.13%. Nagpur district, which accounts for more than half the constituency’s registered electorate, recorded the lowest female turnout at 56.05%. Meanwhile, the final voter turnout was revised marginally upwards to 64.82%, from the earlier reported 64.76%. Of the constituency’s 2,55,603 registered electors, 1,65,672 cast their ballots. The constituency had 22 registered electors in this category, all from Nagpur, making it the only district to record such a vote.
But as observed in previous elections as well, urban voters increasingly treat voting as an individual choice,” said a political analyst. “Rural voters often view elections as a collective responsibility, with family discussions and community involvement encouraging participation. This could partly explain the higher female turnout in Gadchiroli. However, Nagpur has a much larger female electorate, and percentages alone cannot capture the complete picture. Interestingly, the final figures also recorded one vote from the ‘other’ gender category, cast in Nagpur district.