How Key Welfare Schemes Enabled 1.8 Crore More Women To Vote In 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Women-focused central welfare initiatives such as sanitation, Mudra loans, literacy programmes, and housing have significantly empowered crores of women in India to participate in voting, a new study has revealed.

According to an SBI Research report, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed an additional 1.8 crore women voters compared to 2019, largely due to the implementation of women-focused welfare schemes.

The study used data from the Election Commission of India.

The report noted that a 1 per cent rise in literacy accounted for an additional 45 lakh female voters, while home ownership under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) brought 20 lakh more women to the polling booths.

“We empirically establish that states have witnessed an incremental women voter turnout of 18 million (1.8 crore) in 2024 over 2019 primarily because of implementation of women-centric schemes, at least one or more, that also includes income transfer schemes, literacy, employment like Mudra Yojana, house ownership under PMAY, sanitation are significant contributing factors for increased women voting. Electricity and improved drinking water are also emerging as contributors,” the SBI report said.

The SBI Research compared states that introduced women-centric schemes post-2019 with those that did not and observed a notable rise in female voter turnout in the states with these initiatives.

On average, female voter turnout rose by 7.8 lakh in each of the 19 states that implemented the welfare schemes, accounting for a total of 1.5 crore additional women voters.

By contrast, states without these schemes reported a comparatively modest increase of 2.5 lakh women voters on average.

According to the report, a 1 per cent increase in literacy rates corresponded to a 25 per cent rise in female voter turnout, contributing approximately 45 lakh to the 1.8 crore incremental women voters between the 2019 and 2024 general elections.

Similarly, 36 lakhs incremental female voters ( turnout) can be attributable to employment /Mudra Yojana among others, the report noted.

House ownership has also been linked to an increase of around 20 lakh female voters, with 74 per cent of the houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana being owned by women, either solely or jointly.

Sanitation schemes have contributed to around 21 lakh more female voters in the 2024 elections, showing a crucial role in shaping socio-political priorities.

While electricity access and improved drinking water accessibility show a positive impact on female voter turnout, their effects are not statistically significant, the report noted.

Despite these promising trends, the SBI report cautioned against the unchecked expansion of welfare programmes, advising that such expenditures be capped at 1 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

The report also recommended that the Election Commission implement a comprehensive absentee voting system for people who were unable to vote.

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