The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Thursday that the overall voter turnout in the first four phases of the Lok Sabha elections was recorded at around 66.95 per cent.

“Lok Sabha elections 2024 have seen the voter turnout at polling stations of about 66.95 per cent so far, as approximately 451 million people voted during the first four phases of the ongoing general elections,” the ECI said in a communiqué.

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The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases between 19th April and 1st June. The first phase of polling was held on 19th April, second phase on 26th April, third phase on 7th May and fourth phase on 13th May. The first phase recorded 66.14 per cent voter turnout, second 66.71 per cent, third phase 65.68 per cent and fourth phase 67.25 per cent.

As part of its outreach to enhance polling in the general elections, the ECI said it has taken an array of initiatives to motivate voters to cast their vote.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, directed the CEOs of the states going to poll in 5th,6th, and 7th phase to distribute voter information slips to all the electors on time and enhance outreach activities.

“Commission strongly believes that partnership and collaboration are essential pillars of the voter awareness programme. It’s really heartening to see that on the Commission’s request, different institutions, influencers and celebrities having significant reach are working enthusiastically on a pro-bono basis,” said Kumar.

The ECI further informed that telecom service providers like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel Limited, Jio Telecommunication, Vodafone-Idea Ltd are reaching out to every mobile user in the respective parliamentary constituency through push SMS/ Flash SMSs, outbound dialling calls to mobile users, RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging and Whatsapp messages/ alerts. These activities are carried out two-three days prior to the poll and even on the poll day, in regional languages, with an appeal to vote.

Hence, “Don’t get surprised if you receive a call from cricket legend and ECI national icon Sachin Tendulkar appealing to voters to cast their vote during the ongoing Lok Sabha election,” it said.

Among the initiatives taken by the ECI include voter awareness during IPL matches. The ECI has collaborated with the BCCI for voter awareness activities during the ongoing IPL season. The voter awareness messages and songs are being played at different stadiums during the cricket matches.

The poll panel called upon the voters to come out in large numbers and exercise their franchise in the next three phases.