West Bengal has seen 34 lakh more voters press the EVM button this time than in 2021, leaving many experts scratching their heads over a key question—who did these 34 lakh people vote for?
Against a total of 5.98 crore people who voted in West Bengal elections in 2021, 6.31 crore have voted this time. This is despite the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise striking off lakhs of voters from electoral rolls. So, the record voter turnout of almost 93 per cent in West Bengal this time is not just because of the SIR eliminating ‘fake voters’. It is also because the absolute number of voters have gone up—34 lakh of them.
This is significant as the last time in 2021, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) polled nearly 60 lakh more votes than the BJP. The
34 lakh additional voters this time can tilt the game.
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BJP believes the extra 34 lakh voters belong to it, as these are the people who have stepped out due to “no fear factor” this time and the high sense of security due to the presence of nearly 2.5 lakh central security forces. The BJP believes this is a “vote for change” and the higher turnout means a strong sense of anti-incumbency. Having polling booths inside the residential societies this time has also helped boost voting numbers in urban areas, which the BJP believes has worked to its advantage.
But the TMC also claims that the additional 34 lakh voters are from its camp as this is a “protest vote” against the SIR. A senior TMC leader told News18: “You are assuming that the entire TMC vote base came out to vote in 2021. This time, our entire vote base was out to vote as people knew they would otherwise lose their vote in the future due to SIR.” So TMC believes this is a “vote counter-consolidation” on its side and claims the higher voter turnout is not a cause of any worry for it.
May 4 will finally reveal whom these 34 lakh additional voters cast their ballot for, making them the most crucial bloc this election.
