In a groundbreaking initiative to enhance transparency and foster research, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the world's largest electoral dataset, comprising 42 statistical reports for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 14 reports each for the four state assembly elections. This extensive release is set to become a vital resource for academicians, researchers, and election analysts globally.
The ECI stated that the release of these 100 detailed reports would serve as a comprehensive tool for in-depth analysis, offering valuable insights into electoral trends, voter behavior, and political dynamics. The dataset includes a wealth of information such as electors? data across constituencies, polling stations, voter turnout figures, party-wise vote share, gender-based voting patterns, and regional variations. Additionally, it provides a breakdown of constituency-level results, a performance analysis of national and state parties, and the detailed profiles of winning candidates.
"This exhaustive dataset empowers stakeholders to conduct granular-level analyses, allowing comparisons with previous election data available on the ECI website. These reports will enable time-series analysis to track shifts in electoral and political landscapes," said an Election Commission official.
Among the key findings, the data revealed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a world record turnout, with 64.64 crore voters casting their votes. The number of nominations filed for the elections stood at 12,459, marking an increase from 11,692 in 2019. The number of candidates contesting the elections also rose to 8,360 from 8,054 in the previous cycle.
A notable trend highlighted in the dataset was the higher voter participation among women. Female voters accounted for 65.78% of the total electorate, slightly surpassing male voters at 65.55%. The number of women candidates running in the 2024 elections increased to 800, compared to 726 in 2019. Furthermore, the report showed a significant 46.4% increase in the number of third-gender electors since the last election, and the number of registered persons with disabilities (PwD) electors surged to 90,28,696, up from 61,67,482 in 2019.
The data also revealed a stark reduction in repolling, with only 40 polling stations requiring repolling (0.0038% of total polling stations), a dramatic decline from 540 stations in 2019.
