Voting commenced at 95 Lok Sabha seats in 11 states of India along with the Union Territory of Puducherry. Tamil Nadu holds the key in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections that began on April 11 and will continue till May 19.
Glimpse of the Updates:
Besides Tamil Nadu, the elections are taking place for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra, eight in Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam, Bihar and Odisha, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, two in Jammu and Kashmir and one seat each in Manipur and Puducherry. Voting for 35 assembly constituencies is also taking place in Odisha.
EVM glitches in Tamil Nadu and Bihar
Technical glitches delayed the start of polling in a number of booths in Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Polling in Vellore, which was slated for today, stands cancelled owing to the abuse of money power. Also, voting in East Tripura constituency has also been deferred from April 18 to April 23 as the Election Commission cited security concerns and informed that the situation is not conducive in the northeastern state for the polling exercise to take place.
Violence in North Bengal
There were reports of violence in north Bengal’s Islampur in which CPM candidate Md Salim’s vehicle was attacked allegedly by miscreants.
Prime Minister Modi Tweets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the voters to come out in large number and exercise their franchise. PM Modi tweeted, “Dear Citizens of India, Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha polls start today. I am sure all those whose seats are polling today will strengthen our democracy by exercising their franchise. I hope more youngsters head to the polling booths and vote!”
Superstar Rajnikant, Kamal Hasan and his daughter – Early voters in Tamil Nadu
In the early hours of voting, several high-profile politicians and other personalities cast their votes. Among the early voters were Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan and his daughter Shruti in Chennai.
Defense Minister votes from Jaynagar of Banglore Congress leaders P Chidambaram in Sivaganga and Sushil Kumar Shinde in Solapur . Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman voted in Jaynagar of Bangalore South constituency, from where the BJP has fielded Tejaswi Surya, 28-year-old lawye
Development in Mathura is all due to my efforts, says Hema Malini
Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah cast their vote in Srinagar
Omar Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah after casting their votes in Srinagar addressed the media. “These elections have been significantly different from by-elections in which Farooq Abdullah won. In these elections, thankfully, the electorate has been far more receptive, I don’t know if it will impact on the turnout. I only hope that the Centre with EC gives the people of J&K an elected government,” said Omar Abdullah.
When you vote today, remember that you vote for Nyay, says Rahul Gandhi in his tweet
Dr. Rajdeep Roy, a BJP candidate witnessed taking selfie after casting vote
BJP candidate Dr. Rajdeep Roy is seen taking selfie after casting vote on Thursday. Dr. Roy has been pitted against National Mahila Congress chief Susmita Dev in a high profile electoral battle. The far North Eastern Constituency in Barak Valley witnessed hectic campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Supremo Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi’s sister Priyanka did her maiden off Uttar Pradesh campaigh for friend and party candidate Sushmita on Sunday.
97 Lok Sabha Constituencies across 12 States and 1 UT goes to polls in second phase
Over 15 crore, 79 lakh and 34 thousand voters will decide the fate of 1629 candidates. More than 1 lakh 81 thousand polling booths have been set up for smooth conduct of polls.