LS polls LIVE | Phase 2 records 60% voter turnout; Tripura highest at 77.53%
EVM glitches, bogus voting reported in Kerala and Bengal; voters in a few villages in UP's Mathura, Rajasthan's Banswara and Maharashtra's Parbhani boycott polls
A voter turnout of over 60 per cent was recorded till 6 pm on Friday (April 26) in the second phase of polling across 88 Lok Sabha seats in 13 states and Union territories. Tripura logged the highest voting percentage at 77.53 per cent while Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest at 52.74 per cent. The polling percentage is expected to go up in the final tally.
Manipur recorded the second-highest voter turnout at 76.06 per cent followed by West Bengal (71.84 per cent) and Assam (70.66 per cent).
Kerala, which went for single phase polls on Friday had a polling percentage of 70 per cent.
Fourteen Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka recorded a voter turnout of 63.9 percent, with Mandya recording the highest (74 percent) and Bangalore Central the lowest (49 percent). Bengaluru once again recorded low turnout across constituencies.
The polling percentage recorded in the rest of the states were – Bihar (53.03 per cent), Chhattisgarh (72.13 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (67.22 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (54.83 per cent), Maharashtra (53.51 per cent), and Rajasthan (59.19 per cent).
While complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting were received from some booths in Kerala and West Bengal, voters in a few villages in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, Rajasthan's Banswara and Maharashtra's Parbhani boycotted polls over various issues.
Polling for the second stage of the seven-phase elections started at 7 am and stretched beyond the stipulated 6 pm in several states where long queues were witnessed post dusk. Intense heat wave condition prevented many voters from visiting the polling booths in the day.
Till 3 pm, Tripura recorded the highest polling percentage (68.92 per cent) while the lowest turnout was in Maharashtra at 43.01 per cent.
“Aggregate turnout at 3 pm in Phase 2 is 50.25 per cent," the Election Commission said in a statement.
Polling was held in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh (Cong), and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) are among the key candidates while BJP's Hema Malini, Om Birla and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking a hat-trick of wins from their respective constituencies.
Stressing on the importance of each vote, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi issued impassioned appeals asking people to step out and exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.
3 dead in Kerala
In Kerala, the turnout was 51.64 per cent. As the day progressed, people continued to queue up in increasing numbers outside the over 25,000 polling booths in the state to cast their vote.
The election process, held amid tight security arrangements, was primarily incident free except for instances of bogus voting and breakdowns of electronic voting machines (EVMs) being reported in some booths of the state. Such incidents resulted in delaying the polling process in the affected booths.
One person each reportedly died at Palakkad, Alappuzha and Malappuram after casting their vote and a polling agent died after collapsing at a booth in Kozhikode.
In Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency, recorded a turnout of 68.92 per cent till 3 pm. Election officials said there were some complaints from a few booths but those were "promptly addressed".
A jawan of the Madhya Pradesh Special Armed Force deployed on poll duty allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle at a government school where he was stationed in Gariaband district under the Mahasamund seat in Chhattisgarh, where a voter turnout of 63.92 per cent was recorded till 3 pm.
Newly-weds come to cast ballots
A polling booth at Sivni village in Balod district (Kanker seat) was decorated like a wedding 'mandap', with a display of rituals of traditional weddings. Several brides and grooms, dressed in their wedding finery, cast their votes at several polling booths. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, there was a turnout of 46.68 per cent till 3 pm.
An estimated 60.32 per cent of the 77,26,668 voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in the five parliamentary constituencies of Assam. In restive Manipur, where polling is being held under high presence of security personnel, the turnout was a high 68.48 per cent.
Out of 14 segments that are going to polls in Karnataka, the highest turnout of 58.76 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur at 57.49 per cent. The least was 40.10 percent in Bangalore Central. The turnout was 40.77 per cent in Bangalore South and 41.12 per cent in Bangalore North.
Free food for those with inked fingers
Various restaurants in Bangalore were offering free dosas, laddu, coffee and other food items at discounted rates to customers who cast their vote. Till 3 pm, the voting percentage in Karnataka was 50.93.
A private hospital assisted 41 inpatients cast their vote with the help of city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Green corridors were created for the ambulances across constituencies to ensure easy, hassle-free voting.
A voter turnout of 43.01 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in eight constituencies in Maharashtra, while in Rajasthan, the turnout was 50.27 per cent. Incidents of confrontation between the supporters of the Congress candidate and an independent candidate were reported at a couple of places during polling in Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha constituency of Rajasthan.
Police said they were looking into the complaints besides some about fake voting from some places.
A voter turnout of 44.13 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. Senior citizens dominated the early hours of voting in Noida in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency. Some residents' welfare associations made arrangements for electric vehicles to ferry voters to and from the polling booths.
In Bihar, the turnout was 44.24 per cent, 60.60 per cent in in West Bengal and 57.76 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir.
After Friday's phase, polling will be over in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura. In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).
The third phase of elections for 94 seats across 12 states and Union territories will be held on May 7. Counting will be done on June 4.
Live Updates
- 26 April 2024 1:35 PM IST
UP records over 24% voting in 8 seats till 11 am
A voter turnout of 24.31 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of polling in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh in phase two of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, according to officials.
The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
Voting in Uttar Pradesh in the second phase is underway in Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura constituencies.
Election Commission (EC) officials said 28.45 per cent votes were polled in Amroha, 25.67 per cent in Meerut, 22.74 per cent in Baghpat, 23.19 per cent in Ghaziabad, 24.26 in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 23.43 in Bulandshahr, 24.42 per cent in Aligarh and 23.07 in Mathura till 11 am. There are more than 1.67 crore voters, 7,797 polling stations and 17,704 polling booths in these eight Lok Sabha constituencies.
- 26 April 2024 1:34 PM IST
5 Lok Sabha seats in Assam register voter turnout of 27.43% till 11 am
An estimated 27.43 per cent of 77,26,668 voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in the five parliamentary constituencies of Assam, where polling is underway in the second phase on Friday, election officials said.
The highest polling of 30.82 per cent was recorded in Diphu (ST), followed by 29.99 per cent in Karimganj, 28.81 per cent at Darrang-Udalguri, 25.29 per cent in Nagaon and the lowest 23.20 per cent in Silchar, they said.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm. Sixty-one candidates are in the fray in this phase.
Prominent candidates who exercised their franchise are Assam Minister for Excise, Transport and Fisheries Parimal Suklabaidya and his Congress rival Surya Kanta Sarkar in Silchar (SC), sitting BJP MP Kripanath Malla in Karimganj, BJP candidate Amarsing Tisso and his Congress rival Joyram Engleng in Diphu (ST) and sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi and his BJP rival Suresh Bora in Nagaon. Altogether 77,26,668 voters, including 38,61,559 women and 179 third gender, are likely to exercise their franchise in 9,133 polling stations.
- 26 April 2024 1:33 PM IST
Tripura East logs 36.79% voter turnout till 11 am
The Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency recorded a voter turnout of 36.79 per cent till 11 am on Friday, an official said.
Long queues were seen outside polling stations since morning, as people turned up early to beat the heat, Additional Chief Electoral Officer S Bandopadhyay said.
"The polling has largely remained peaceful, with no untoward incident reported till 11 am. The average voting stands at 36.79 per cent,” he said.
Taking to social media, Chief Minister Manik Saha urged voters to exercise their democratic right in record numbers.
Nearly 14 lakh voters, including 6.94 lakh women and 13 transgenders, will decide the fate of nine candidates in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
- 26 April 2024 1:32 PM IST
21.68% voter turnout recorded in 5 seats of Bihar till 11 am
A voter turnout of 21.68 per cent was recorded till 11 am in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar where polling was underway in the second phase on Friday, officials said.
The polling started at 7 am in Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka constituencies, and would continue till 6 pm, they said.
Fifty candidates are in the fray in these five seats, and over 93 lakh people are eligible to decide their fate, they added.
In the first four hours, Purnea recorded a voter turnout of 25.9 per cent, Katihar registered 22.65 per cent, Kishanganj recorded 21.94 per cent, Bhagalpur registered 19.27 per cent and Banka recorded 18.75 per cent, officials said.
Speaking to reporters in Lakhisarai, Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. People must vote for the overall growth of the country as well as Bihar." Meanwhile, Congress's Kishanganj MP Mohd Javed, who is seeking re-election, filed a police complaint, alleging that his opponents issued a fake statement in his name asking voters to vote in favour of another candidate.
"It was an attempt by my opponents to mislead voters of Kishanganj. I filed a complaint against the suspects last night," he told reporters.
More than 150 companies of paramilitary forces are assisting the state police in ensuring free and fair elections in this phase, officials said.
The polling was underway amid intense heatwave conditions with the mercury shooting past the 40-degrees Celsius mark in most parts of the state.
Arrangements for tents and drinking water have been made at the polling stations, officials said.
- 26 April 2024 1:32 PM IST
Steady polling in Kerala; 33.4% turnout at 12.20 pm
Polling in the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala continued steadily in the first half of Friday with the state registering a turnout of 33.4 per cent till 12.20 pm.
The election process, held amidst tight security arrangements, was primarily incident free except for instances of bogus voting and breakdowns of electronic voting machines (EVMs) being reported in some booths of the state.
Such incidents resulted in delaying the polling process in the affected booths.
Congress leader Anto Antony, who is contesting from Pathanamthitta LS seat, and his party colleague Chandy Oommen, expressed dissatisfaction over such incidents and the resultant delays, leading to several voters returning to their homes.
Both of them said that they have asked officials to extend the voting time in the affected booths.
The voter turnout was 12.26 per cent at 9.20 am and rose to 16 per cent and then 19.06 per cent at 10 am and 10.20 am, respectively.
Later it increased to 26.26 per cent at 11.20 am and 31.06 per cent at 12 noon.
Attingal LS constituency continued to register the highest turnout at 35.15 per cent with Alappzuha at 35.13 per cent and Palakkad at 35.10 per cent, coming a close second and third, respectively, at 12.20pm.
Three elderly persons and a polling agent reportedly died during the polling in the state.
According to reports, one person each died at Palakkad, Alappuzha and Malappuram after casting their vote and a polling agent died after collapsing at a booth in Kozhikode.
Kerala saw a voter turnout of 77.84 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Voting commenced in all 20 Lok Sabha seats of the state at 7 am today.
- 26 April 2024 1:30 PM IST
Karnataka officers wear special sarees to encourage voting
Eight senior women officers of district administration wore specially-designed silk saris sporting a message that seeks to encourage voter participation which came in for all-round praise.
Chamarajanagar is among the 14 Lok Sabha segments, where voting is underway in Karnataka on Friday.
The eight included Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar Shilpa Nag, who is also the Election Officer for Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, who sported a message "Chunavana Parva-Deshada Garva" (festival of election is the country's pride) on their sarees.
"The hand-woven silk sarees are to promote traditional weavers and weaving industry that Chamarajanagar is known for, and also to create awareness about voting," Nag told PTI.
The other officers, who wore these sarees with shades of green and blue, included an Additional Commissioner, three Assistant Returning Officers and two Tahsildars.
- 26 April 2024 1:23 PM IST
Rajasthan records over 26% voter turnout in 13 constituencies till 11 am
Polling picked up in the initial hours in the 13 Lok Sabha seats of Rajasthan where elections are being held in the second phase on Friday.
Nearly 27 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across the 13 parliamentary constituencies and one assembly seat in Rajasthan where a bypoll is underway.
26.84 percent voter turnout was recorded in the Lok Sabha seats and 31 per cent in the Bagidora assembly constituency by 11 am, according to official data.
The voting percentage in the first four hours in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls is above that of the first phase.
The polling percentage in 12 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls on April 19 was 22.51 per cent by this time.
Around 2.8 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the polls. This is the final phase of polling in Rajasthan.
Voting is underway in Barmer-Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jalore, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Kota-Bundi, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran, along with the Bagidora Assembly constituency where a bypoll is underway.
The highest voter turnout of 30.04 percent was recorded in the tribal dominated Banswara-Dungarpur seat, followed by Barmer where 29.58 per cent electors cast votes by 11 am.
Tonk-Sawai Madhopur recorded the lowest turnout of 24 per cent in the first four hours, according to official data.
Voting percentage in other constituencies till 11 am stood at 24.43 in Ajmer, 25.15 in Bhilwara, 26.48 in Chittorgarh, 28.50 in Jalore, 28.88 in Jhalawar, 25.75 in Jodhpur, 28.30 in Kota, 24.62 in Pali, 25.58 in Rajsamand and 27.46 in Udaipur.
Enthusiasm was seen among the people who lined up at the polling booths to cast votes.
However, in Banswara, no voter reached the Adibheet polling booth by 11 am. The locals have certain demands regarding compensation against land acquired for a power plant and have declared to boycott the elections.
The officials said are trying to convince the voters to exercise their franchise.
In the first two hours of the voting, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is contesting from Kota-Bundi, BJP state president CP Joshi, BJP candidate from Chittorgarh, Union minister and BJP candidate from Jodhpur Gajendra Singh Shekhawat cast their votes.
Assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani cast his vote in Ajmer while former chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Ashok Gehlot exercised their franchise in Jhalawar and Jodhpur respectively.
108-year-old Bhuri Bai cast her vote at Gunjara polling booth in Kota-Bundi LS constituency. She was brought to the polling booth in a wheelchair by the family members.
A man, his son and granddaughters, representing three generations, reached a polling station at Sankand in Jalore to cast votes. They also took pictures at the selfie point in the booth.
A groom, Radhe Suthar, cast his vote at Bhadsoda in Chittorgarh before going for his wedding procession. Suthar told reporters that it is important to exercise franchise in democracy, so he spared time to cast vote before his marriage function.
Voting for 12 seats in the desert state was held in the first phase on April 19.
The Bagidora Assembly seat in Banswara fell vacant after Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya switched over to the BJP. Malviya is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Banswara as a BJP candidate.
- 26 April 2024 1:18 PM IST
#WATCH | Maharashtra: A resident of Wardha, Vinod Kshirsagar arrives at a polling booth with his pet Langur 'Bajrang', to cast his vote for #LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/KH0utNvwpX
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024 - 26 April 2024 1:17 PM IST
#LokSabhaElections2024 | Karnataka Deputy CM & Congress leader DK Shivakumar casts his vote in KanakapuraHis brother & Congress leader DK Suresh is contesting from Bangalore Rural constituency. pic.twitter.com/uZkRz0PkNf
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
