New Delhi: With a keen focus in ensuring that no one is left behind to cast his/her vote in the Lok Sabha elections, as many as 90,07,755 PwDs voters will cast their valuable votes, registering a spike of nearly 44 per cent as compared to previous PwD voters in 2019 which stood at 62,63,701.

According to the data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), there are 53,64,676 male, 36,42,637 women and 442 third-gender PWD registered voters.

Amongst them, Uttar Pradesh with 12,60,161 secures the top post with the highest number of registered PWD voters followed by 7,45,937 in Bihar, 6,19,069 in Karnataka, 6,04,288 in Maharashtra, 5,79,500 in Madhya Pradesh, 5,74,079 in Rajasthan, 5,26,709 in Telangana, 5,22,805 in Odisha and others.

Amongst the states/UTs with highest number of regaisted female PWD voters, Uttar Pradesh with 4,51,613 tops the list followed by 2,94,255 in Bihar, 2,60,633 in Karnataka, 2,44,118 in Madhya Pradesh, 2,28,343 in Maharashtra and others. There are a total of 442 third-gender registered voters with Uttar Pradesh again topping the list with 68 voters followed by 53 in Karnataka, 50 in Tamil Nadu, 49 in Odisha, 39 in Bihar and others.

The poll panel on Friday said for the first time in Lok Sabha election, it is facilitating ‘home voting’ for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs) across the country. The home voting facility of the poll panel is aimed at empowering voters who encounter barriers to participating in the electoral process at the polling stations. This facility is extended to senior citizens aged above 85 years and PwDs.

Also, India will go to the polls from April 19 to June 1, in a seven-phase exercise to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The dates of polling for the Lok Sabha are April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

The longest so far was the country’s first general election, which was held over a five-month period between September 1951 and February 1952. India has a total of 96.8 crore registered voters, of which 49.72 crore are men and 47.1 crore are women. There are 1.82 crore first time electors and 81,11,740 voters above the age of 85.