Lok Sabha polls, Phase 1: Here's state-wise voting percentage till 1 pm; Tripura highest

An estimated voter turnout of 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Friday (April 19) in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories. Polling began at 7 AM and will end at 6 PM.

Election officials said the highest turnout till 1 pm was recorded in Tripura which saw 53.04 per cent of voters casting their vote and the lowest in Lakshadweep which saw 29.91 voting percentage.

Polling is being held for Tamil Nadu's all seats of 39, Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).

Voting is also underway in 12 seats of Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh.

The Lok Sabha elections will conclude on June 1 and the counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

Here is the state-wise voter turnout till 1 PM in Phase 1 of Lok Sabha polls on Friday.

Tamil Nadu (39 seats)

Voting picked up gradually in all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies across Tamil Nadu after commencing on a dull note early in the morning. As per the 1 pm status, the state registered a poll percentage of 39.51.

Voting was incident-free but for some minor glitches in the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) at a few places, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said on Friday.

West Bengal (3)

West Bengal recorded a turnout of 50.96 per cent till 1 pm. However, polling was marred by violence in the Cooch Behar seat.

TMC and BJP workers clashed with each other and lodged complaints related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assault on poll agents.

Manipur (2)

In violence-hit Manipur, around 45.68 per cent of polling was recorded till 1 pm. An altercation broke out between locals and unidentified persons in Thongju Assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat

Chhattisgarh (1)

In Chhattisgarh, more than 42 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where an assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Bijapur district.

A CRPF jawan deployed on poll security duty was also injured when a shell of an under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) accidentally exploded in Bijapur district.

Arunachal Pradesh (2)

Arunachal Pradesh saw 34.99 per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters exercising their franchise. Though the turnout was moderate in the morning hours due to inclement weather, it gathered momentum with weather conditions improving.

In a few polling stations in the state, polling was delayed as the electronic voting machines (EVMs) developed technical snags which were later replaced, Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sain said.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1)

Andaman and Nicobar Islands saw a voting percentage of 35.7 per cent. There were some minor EVM glitches but it was addressed immediately, officials said.

Assam (5)

In Assam, EVM malfunctioning was reported at three polling booths of Bihpuria in Lakhimpur, one each in Hojai, Kaliabor and Bokakhat, and one in Naharkatia of Dibrugarh, an official said.

The state saw a polling percentage of 45.12 per cent.

Bihar (4)

In Bihar, around 32 per cent of the 75 lakh voters in four Lok Sabha constituencies exercised their franchise till 1 pm.

Jammu and Kashmir (1)

Braving incessant rains, 43.11 per cent of voters exercised their choice in the first six hours of polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur parliamentary constituency.

Rajasthan (12)

In Rajasthan, over 33 per cent voting took place till 1 pm.

Uttarakhand (5)

Uttarakhand saw over 37 per cent polling till 1 pm. Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar recorded the highest 40.46 per cent polling followed by Haridwar with 39.41 per cent, Pauri Garhwal with 36.60 per cent, Tehri Garhwal with 35.29 per cent and Almora with 32.29 per cent polling.

Maharashtra (5)

In Maharashtra, a voter turnout of 32.36 per cent was recorded till 1 pm.

Madhya Pradesh (6)

In the six Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, a voter turnout of 44.18 per cent was recorded.

Uttar Pradesh (8)

Uttar Pradesh witnessed 36.96 per cent voting.

Meghalaya (2)

Meghalaya recorded 48.9 voter turnout till 1 pm.

Mizoram (1): 36.67 per cent

Nagaland (1): 38.83 per cent

Puducherry (1): 44.95 per cent

(With agency inputs)