The turnout of tribal women on polling day in Gujarat as per the final calculations stand at 48 percent compared to 43.37 percent of urban women, he said.
The reason for the higher turnout of tribal women in the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat is being attributed to higher tolerance level of women in the tribal areas to withstand heat wave conditions compared to their urban counterparts most of whom did not venture out to polling booths in similar temperatures of around 43 degrees Celsius which were recorded in certain parts of Gujarat.
‘The tribal women work outside during summers all day so a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius for them meant no discomfort and they could stand in queues for an hour to vote but for urban women who remain indoors in offices or homes they may not have wanted to venture out even for a hour to vote, fearing a stroke,’ the official said.
The maximum number of tribal women (1.19 lakh) turned out to vote in Vasanda assembly segment coming under Valsad Lok Sabha seat followed by Bhiloda assembly segment in Sabarkantha Lok sabha seat (1.14 lakh).
According to poll officials, another factor which might have contributed to higher turnout of tribal women could be their higher receptiveness to the various poll campaigns launched by the political parties.
The voting percentage of the tribal women in the 27 reserved seats of assembly segments coming under various Lok Sabha constituencies was as high as 42.48 percent this poll, the official added.