NRIs showed great enthusiasm in registering as voters and about 1.2 lakh people got their names registered in the voter list, but very few people came to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections this year.
According to data released by the Election Commission, 1,19,374 NRI voters registered in 2024, of which Kerala registered the highest number of NRIs at 89,839. In 2019, 99,844 NRIs had registered.
Election officials said only 2,958 overseas voters came to India to participate in the world’s largest democratic process. Of these, 2,670 voters were from Kerala alone.
In many big states like Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, no contribution of migrant voters was seen in the voting.
Only two out of 885 migrant voters cast their votes in the Lok Sabha elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat.
The situation was almost similar in Maharashtra, where only 17 out of 5,097 non-resident Indian (NRI) voters voted.
As per the existing electoral law, registered NRI voters have to come to their respective Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to cast their votes. They have to show their original passport as proof of their identity.
Data shows that there were 7,927 registered NRI voters in Andhra Pradesh, but only 195 came to vote. None of the 19 registered voters in Assam cast their vote.
The situation was similar in Bihar, where none of the 89 registered migrant voters exercised their franchise.
A similar situation was seen in Goa, where none of the 84 migrant voters voted.
