The General Election 2024 Results have been concluded, with the NDA likely to form the government for the next five years. This election saw a fierce competition between the opposition and the BJP-led NDA. Remarkably, the ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option played a significant role this time, with Madhya Pradesh’s Indore setting a record for the highest number of NOTA votes, surpassing Bihar’s Gopalganj constituency.
India Sets Record with Largest Voter Turnout
The overall voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 reached an unprecedented high. According to the Election Commission of India, approximately 64.2 crore people cast their ballots, marking the highest voter turnout in any country worldwide. This included 31 crore women and 33 crore male voters. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar highlighted, “We have created a world record of 642 million voters. This is 1.5 times the voters of all G7 countries and 2.5 times the voters of the 27 countries in the EU.”
Significant Increase in First-Time Voters in Delhi
Delhi saw a substantial rise in the number of first-time voters, with the figure increasing to 2.43 lakh, according to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office. The final electoral roll published on January 22 indicated a significant jump from 1.47 lakh to approximately 2.43 lakh first-time voters. The office expressed hope that the number would further increase to around 2.50 lakh after the publication of the supplementary electoral roll. This increase is attributed to effective voter awareness campaigns targeting the youth.
Biggest Victory Margins
Several BJP leaders achieved the highest victory margins in the Lok Sabha polls. Shankar Lalwani from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, won by over 11.72 lakh votes. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and BJP Gujarat leader CR Patil also recorded significant leads, each surpassing seven lakh votes in their respective constituencies.
Record Cash Seizure During Elections
The General Election 2024 saw a record seizure of Rs 10,000 crore, as reported by the Economic Times. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar commended the Election Commission’s efforts to curb vote buying and corruption. In comparison, the amount seized in 2019 was Rs 3,477 crore. Kumar praised the EC’s initiatives over the past two years, which have effectively prevented the distribution of freebies like liquor, dhotis, and sarees. Notably, no major instances of money distribution were reported in the southern states, which had previously been common.
