GUWAHATI, April 25 - With polling having concluded for the Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam, it is noteworthy that the turnout among electors belonging to the �third gender� has been very low in all the seats of the State.
As against as overall turnout of 81.52 per cent in the State, the polling percentage among the third gender electors stood at less than five per cent.
A total of 491 electors were registered as belonging to the third gender in the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam. Only 24 third gender electors, comprising a mere 4.89 per cent of the total, turned up to exercise their franchise.
The turnout among third gender electors touched the 10 per cent mark in only two constituencies. In three other seats, not even a single third gender elector voted.
Of the 31 third gender electors in Tezpur constituency, only one (or 3.22 per cent) voted. In Kaliabor, only seven (or 15.22 per cent) of the 46 registered third gender electorate cast their votes. Only one of the total seven (or 14.29 per cent) electors of the third gender voted in Jorhat constituency. Of the 28 third gender electors in Dibrugarh constituency, only one (or 3.57 per cent) voted.
Similarly, in Lakhimpur constituency, only one (or 2.38 per cent) out of the 42 registered third gender electors voted in the elections. Of the 18 third gender electors registered in Karimganj constituency, not even a single one voted. In Silchar constituency, only two (or 2.67 per cent) of the 75 registered third gender electorate cast their votes.
None of the six electors belonging to the third gender voted in the Autonomous District (Diphu) constituency. Similarly, none of the 32 third gender electors in Mangaldai constituency voted in the Lok Sabha elections.
In Nagaon constituency, only three (or 6.12 per cent) of the 49 registered third gender electors voted in the elections. The turnout among the third gender electorate was 8.33 per cent in Dhubri constituency, with two of the 24 registered exercising their franchise.
Of the total 39 third gender electors in Kokrajhar, only one (or 2.56 per cent) voted. Similarly, in Barpeta as well, only one (or 6.25 per cent) of the 16 registered third gender electors turned out to vote.
Even in the high profile Guwahati constituency, the polling percentage of third gender electorate stood at a lowly 5.13 per cent. Only four of the 78 registered third gender electors exercised their franchise in Guwahati.
The low turnout among third gender electors was registered even as the overall polling percentage among male voters in Assam stood at 81.73 per cent while it was 81.30 per cent for female voters.
