Polling officials leave for election duty on the eve of the 2nd phase of Lok Sabha polls, in Mangaluru.
Parliamentary constituencies: 88
General : 73 | ST:6 | SC:9
Total candidates: 1202
Male candidates: 1098
Female candidates: 102
Third gender: 2
Total voters: 15.88 cr
Male voters: 8.08cr
Female voters: 7.8cr
Third gender voters: 5,929
First time voters: 34.8 lakh
Polling station: 1.67 lakh
Key contestants:
Rahul Gandhi (INC), Sukanta Majumdar (BJP), Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav (IND), Vaibhav Gehlot (INC), Gajendra Singh Shekawat (BJP), Hema Malini(BJP), V. Somanna (BJP), Bhupesh Bhagel (INC), H.D Kumaraswamy (JDS), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), KC Venugopal (INC), Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP), Shashi Tharoor (INC)
Eight seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on Friday in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections where 1.49 crore voters from the state can cast their ballot to seal the fate of 204 candidates.
Voting will be held in Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha and Yavatmal-Washim seats in the west Vidarbha region and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in Marathwada.
Of these seats, Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim and Hingoli will see direct contests between the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT).
A total of 194 contestants in 20 Lok Sabha seats are vying for voters' support as Kerala goes to the polls on Friday, after over a month of fierce campaigns by the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF, Congress-headed UDF, and the BJP-led NDA.
The Election Commission said there are over 2. 75 crore voters in Kerala, and that polling will commence at 7 am on Friday.
This time, there are 2,77,49,159 voters in the state out of which 1,43,33,499 are women and more than five lakh are first-time voters.
Polling began Friday morning in eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra in the second phase of the general elections, an official said.
Voting started at 7 am in Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha and Yavatmal-Washim seats in the west Vidarbha region and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in Marathwada, and will end at 6 pm, the official said.
As many as 1.49 crore voters, including 77,21,374 men, 72,04,106 women, and 432 persons from the third-gender category, are eligible to cast their ballot across 16,589 polling centres to seal the fate of 204 candidates in the fray in the eight seats.
Of the 204 candidates in the fray, there are 21 in Buldhana, 15 in Akola, 37 in Amravati, 24 in Wardha, 17 in Yavatmal-Washim, 33 in Hingoli, 23 in Nanded, and 34 contestants in Parbhani seat.
Opposition leader and Kerala Congress leader VD Satheesan and family booth number shows his finger after casting his vote.
Satheesan accompanied by his wife and daughter cast their votes at Kesari Balakrishna Memorial College, Paravur.
The fate of 50 candidates in Bihar will be sealed in the election. The polling started at 7 am in Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka and will continue till 6 pm, a senior official said.
Over 93 lakh voters, including 45.15 lakh women and 306 belonging to the third gender, will decide the fate of 50 nominees, including three women, in these five seats.
Young voters form more than one-third of the electorate, with 13.77 lakh in the age group of 18-19 years and another 20.86 lakh aged between 20 and 29 years.
Polling for 13 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats and one Assembly constituency in Rajasthan began on Friday morning.
Voting began at 7 am 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 being held.
Around 2.8 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
This is the final phase of polling in Rajasthan.
Voter turnout in Assam at 15.5% till 10 am.
Manipur at 17% till 9.30 am and Tripura at 17% till 9 am.
HD Devegowda casts his vote at a polling station in Holenarasipura of Hassan district. Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna is contesting the elections from Hassan constituency
Kerala Minister MB Rajesh waits in the queue to cast his vote at Kayilad KVUP School in Ottapalam Taluk.
Constituency-wise:
1.Thiruvananthapuram-23.75%
2. Attingal-26.03%
3. Kollam-23.82%
4. Pathanamthitta-24.39%
5. Mavelikkara-24.56%
6. Alappuzha-25.28%
7. Kottayam-24.25%
8. Idukki-24.13%
9. Ernakulam-23.90%
10. Chalakudy-24.93%
11. Thrissur-24.12%
12. Palakkad-25.20%
13. Alathur-23.75%
14. Ponnani-20.97%
15. Malappuram-22.44%
16. Kozhikode-23.13%
17. Wayanad-24.64%
18. Vadakara-22.66%
19. Kannur-24.68%
20. Kasaragod-23.74%
The highest voter percentage was in Dakshin Kannada 30.98%, followed by Udupi-Chikkamagalur 29.03%, as per the reports by the election commission.
The voting percentage in Kolar was 20.76% and 21.92% was reported in Chikkaballapur parliamentary constituencies.
The polling percentage in the four parliamentary constituencies of Bangalore South, central, north and rural were comparatively dull at 19.81%, 19.21%, 19.78% and 20.35%, respectively.
In Chamarajanagar it was 22.81%, Mysore 25.09%, Tumkur 23.32%, Chitradurga 21.75% and Hassan 22.03%.
More than 35 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in the first four hours of polling in three Lok Sabha constituencies, all having Naxalite presence, of Chhattisgarh in the second phase of general elections on Friday, an official said.
Till 11 am, Kanker seat had recorded a 39.38 per cent turnout, Mahasamund 34.43 per cent and Rajnandgaon 32.99 per cent, he said.
Among the early voters, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma and former MP Abhishek Singh cast their votes in Kawardha town in Rajnandgaon seat, BJP candidate Santosh Pandey and his wife in Sahaspur-Lohara (Rajnandgaon), BJP nominee Rupkumari Chaudhary in Harratar village (Mahasamund), and BJP candidate Bhojraj Nag and his wife in Antagarh (Kanker).
The polling booth at Sivni village in Balod district (Kanker seat) was decorated like a wedding mandap.
Rituals of traditional weddings have been portrayed in the booth.
As the wedding season is underway, many men and women, attired in wedding costumes, cast their votes in the three seats.
By 11:40 am, reports showed that 26.89 % of eligible voters had cast their ballots in the constituency.
Despite the scorching sun, people from all assembly segments in the constituency flocked to the polling booths.
Similar to the previous election, the Vaikom Assembly segment had the highest voter turnout this time at 28.25 percent, followed closely by Puthuppally at 28.38 percent, and Kaduthuruthi with the lowest turnout at 25.29 percent.
The polling percentages in other Assembly constituencies were as follows: Ettumanoor – 27.33; Kottayam– 28.01; Piravom – 25.82; and Pala – 25.68.
Voting was delayed in several booths during the early hours due to technical issues with the machines in various assembly segments in Kottayam.
Despite concerns, the district Collector stated that no additional time would be allotted to compensate for the lost time in the morning. Political party representatives are now working to encourage voters who left without casting their ballots due to the delays to return and participate in the democratic process.
Minister V N Vasavan, along with wife Geetha, daughters Dr. Hima and Greeshma cast votes at MGM High School in Pampady in the morning. LDF candidate Thomas Chazhikadan voted at at SH Mount School in Kottayam. After casting his vote Town UP School in Muvattupuzha, UDF candidate K Francis George arrived in Kottayam constituency to meet the voters. NDA candidate Thushar Vellappally cast his vote at Govt VHSS at Kanichukulangara in early morning and arrived in Kottayam to meet voters.
At polling booth number 53 in Arenuru village, located in Chikkamagaluru taluk, voting was disrupted due to a malfunction in EVM.
Residents expressed frustration over the interruption and criticised the district election authorities.
Coffee plantation workers lined up at the polling station early in the morning, aiming to vote before heading to work. While the Negotiable Instrument Act provided a holiday for labourers, some opted to work after casting their ballots. These workers voiced their discontent with the polling staff.
However, the returning officer clarified that a mobile sector officer was equipped with a vehicle containing reserve EVMs to replace the faulty ones.
Polling was swiftly restored, and authorities confirmed that it is proceeding smoothly.
103-year old Nanjundaswamy, a cancer survivor undergoing chemotherapy at Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru voted with the help of the hospital, ECI and BBMP.
In collaboration with the ECI and BBMP, the hospital facilitated assisted voting for 41 patients aged between 25 and 103 years across constituencies.
“Patients, including 103-year-old cancer survivor Nanjunda Swamy, a cancer survivor who is currently undergoing treatment at the Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road under Dr Shabber Zaveri, Kalavathi (78), undergoing treatment for pneumonia, Srinivas Rao (76), who underwent Uro-surgery on Thursday, and Madhan (25), an accident victim voted with the help of the hospital, ECI and BBMP,” said Chief Operating Officer, Karthik Rajagopal, Manipal Hospitals.
He added that the patients “showcased determination despite medical adversities. Manipal Hospitals, with its initiative, ensured inclusivity and civic duty, providing transportation and medical assistance, and allowing every citizen, regardless of health circumstances, to participate in the democratic process."
Polling in all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala for the 2024 general election concluded at 6 pm, with the state recording a provisional voter turnout of over 67.27%.
Though the official time for polling ended at 6 pm, huge queues were seen outside polling booths across the state, and therefore, the final turnout percentage is likely to go up. Tokens were issued to voters waiting in the queues.
Kerala had seen a voter turnout of 77.84% in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
