Gopalganj, October 29 . The draft of the voter list released for the upcoming assembly general elections has revealed a new picture regarding the participation of democracy in the district. According to the released data, the number of female voters in the district is 1 lakh 9 thousand 171 less than that of male voters. In which maximum names of 22 thousand 221 in Kuchaykot Assembly and 5 thousand 795 in Hathua Assembly have been removed from the voter list. This difference is not only a matter of statistics but has become a matter of surprise for both society and politics.

Election analysts believe that women voters have played a decisive role in many elections so far. Women vote bank not only changed the results of many seats, but also forced political parties to pay attention to women-centric policies, plans and announcements. In such a situation, the decline in the number of women in the district can impact the strategy and results of the parties in the upcoming elections. According to the released format, names of a total of 18 lakh 6 thousand 465 voters have been registered in the district. These include 9 lakh 57 thousand 787 men, 8 lakh 48 thousand 616 women and 62 third gender voters. That is, the number of women voters in the district is 1 lakh 9 thousand 171 less than men. There are only 890 female voters per 1000 male voters in the district, while the state average is 908. According to the final list released on September 30, 2025 after a special intensive vetting process, the number of voters in the district has decreased by more than 2 lakh 49 thousand. In the list published at the beginning of the year on January 1, the total number of voters was 20 lakh 49 thousand 380, which has now come down to 18 lakh 6 thousand 465 crore. While there was a huge reduction of about 15% in women’s names, there was a 7.8% reduction in men’s names.

The maximum number of 22 thousand 221 women voters in Kuchaykot assembly and the least number of 5 thousand 795 women voters in Hathua assembly have been removed from the voter list. Another important fact has emerged from the comparison of voter lists of January 1, August 1, and September 30 that the names of more women voters than men may have been removed in this revision drive. According to Election Commission data, the sex ratio (number of female voters per thousand male voters) was 914 in the list as of January 1, 2025, which has come down to 893 on August 1 and 892 on September 30. Although the number of both male and female voters has declined between January 1 and September 30, the decline has been proportionately greater among female voters.

Political analysts believe that if women voters continue to stay away from the democratic process, it will not only upset the electoral balance but will also weaken the voice of half the population. Democracy will take strong roots only when women are actively involved in the voting process with equal participation. District Officer cum District Election Officer Pawan Kumar Sinha said that efforts should be made on priority to increase the number of women voters in the upcoming one month special campaign. He said that new women voters will be added to the list by running awareness campaigns at schools, colleges and panchayat level.

The ratio of removal of women’s names is more than that of men. At a glance———

Serial No. Name of Assembly Male—— Female—Less number of women

-99- Baikunthpur——161850————- 144232——– 17,618

-100- Barauli——-149361————–132933——– 16,434

-101-Gopalganj—–156691———–138564———-18,127

-102- Kuchaykot—159850————-137629——-22,221

-103- Bhore———176665————-159165——-17,500

-104-Hathua——-153370————159165——-5795

Total————–957787————848616——109,171

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/ Akhilanand Mishra