New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: India will soon set a new record with one billion-plus voters, Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Rajiv Kumar told a presser on Tuesday while announcing the date for election to Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Kumar noted that 2024 was the year of elections globally when two-third of the world’s population in democracies voted in different polls. “We also had elections in eight states and UTs. There was a good atmosphere, new records were set in the Lok Sabha elections in terms of voting percentage, people’s participation, especially women, and record seizures,” the CEC said.
Kumar further stated that India is nearing a historic milestone while mentioning about release of electoral rolls on Monday. “Our electoral rolls released yesterday, and in four more states – Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Punjab – today, show that we are crossing 99 crore registered voters. Soon, we will be a nation of one billion voters, which will be another record in voting.”
Highlighting the increasing participation of women, the CEC added, “The number of women registered as voters will also surpass 48 crore in this SSR (Special Summary Revision). This is a very strong indicator of women’s empowerment.”
Answering questions raised on the authenticity of the election process, Kumar reiterated that it is impossible to change voter turnout data and a misconceived narrative is being spread about an increase in voting after 5 pm. He asserted that not a single discrepancy has been found in votes counted through EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.
On wrongful additions or deletions in electoral rolls to target particular groups, the CEC said: “Stories on electoral rolls are still going on… Political parties were involved at each and every stage of voter list preparation with full disclosure and opportunity to object. no deletion is possible until there is Form 7 produced…”
Odisha added 210,904 voters, taking the total electorate to 34,072,744, according to the photo electoral roll for special summary revision 2025. The state has 50.5% (17,205,150) male voters while females account for 49.49% (16,864,160). In addition, there are 3,434 registered transgender voters.
Of the total electorate, 599,555 voters are aged 18-19 years (1.76%), 522,364 with disabilities (1.53%) and 338,516 senior citizens aged 85 and above (0.99%).
The statement issued by the CEO further stated that gender ratio in the state has improved from 976 to 980, indicating an increased participation of women in the electoral process.
