42 per cent increase in teenage voters since December polls

NEW DELHI: Within four months of the assembly elections, Delhi's voter tally has increased from 1.19 crore to more than 1.27 crore. More significantly, roughly 42%—3.4 lakh—of the newly-enrolled voters are in the 18-19 age group. Five years ago, there were only 93,000 voters in this bracket.

Election Commission data shows a very high turnout among teenage voters. In the December polls, more than 76% of them cast their vote. Among girls, the percentage was 80%.

With the electoral roll ready for notification, the office of the chief electoral officer of Delhi is preparing to launch a social media campaign targeted at young voters. More than two dozen popular websites, besides busy public sector portals like the one for railway booking, will run the campaign. Wherever possible, icons will be introduced to guide visitors to the Delhi CEO website so that they can know about the elections, their voter cards, and the process for voter enrollment.

Delhi's chief electoral officer, Vijay Dev, said youth voters account for about 2.7% of the city's electorate. "We will be reaching out to voters through popular websites and also Facebook," Dev said.

About the 6.45 lakh additional voters since January 1, he said, "Nearly half of the total addition made to the electoral roll comes from special camps held on March 8 and 9". He added that many more could have been enrolled but the rules don't permit inclusion of those who turned 18 on or after January 1 this year. "They will have to wait for the next polls now," Dev said.

He pointed out that, in the days ahead, campaigning will focus on reaching out to not just the youth but also women as they made a big difference in the December elections. More women cast their vote than men. This time, women add up to 56.6 lakh voters while there are 70.5 lakh men voters. The gender ratio of voters, despite improvement, continues to be skewed at 803 females per 1,000 males.