India's Record-Breaking Lok Sabha Elections: A Historic Turnout

India set a world record with 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, participating in the Lok Sabha elections, as announced by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The election saw the involvement of over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore personnel. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest turnout in four decades.

India has achieved a global milestone with an unprecedented 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, taking part in the Lok Sabha elections this year, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar revealed on Monday.

Addressing the media, Kumar highlighted the magnitude of the world's largest electoral exercise, which saw the deployment of over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore polling and security personnel. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir reported its highest voter turnout in four decades, recording an overall 58.58 percent turnout and 51.05 percent in the Valley.

In response to social media memes dubbing election commissioners as 'Laapataa Gentlemen,' Kumar quipped, 'We were always here, never went missing. Now memes can say the 'Laapataa Gentlemen' are back.' Kumar also outlined the logistics of the election, including the use of nearly four lakh vehicles, 135 special trains, and 1,692 air sorties. Additionally, he reported that only 39 repolls were held in 2024, down from 540 in 2019, and seizures worth Rs 10,000 crore in cash, freebies, drugs, and liquor were made, up from Rs 3,500 crore in 2019.