Lok Sabha Election LIVE: Over 60% voter turnout in the second phase

Over 60 per cent polling was reported till 5 pm in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections covering 88 seats across 13 states amid complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting in some booths in Kerala and West Bengal.

Voters in some villages of Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, Rajasthan's Banswara and Maharashtra's Parbhani boycotted polls over various issues but were persuaded by authorities to cast their franchise.

Polling for the second stage of the seven-phase elections started at 7 am and was to continue till 6 pm. Several states are experiencing intense heat conditions.

Election officials said the highest voting percentage was recorded in Tripura which registered 77.53 per cent polling till 5 pm, while the lowest turnout was in Uttar Pradesh at 52.74 per cent.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is Congress' candidate in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat in the state, on Friday said he has received complaints that his photos on the Electronic Voting Machines are smaller and unclear as compared to those of his rivals.

 Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the Centre of depriving West Bengal of funds for social welfare schemes and said that her government will arrange the money.

Addressing an election rally in support of party candidate Dev in Ghatal, she alleged that the BJP was attempting religious polarisation.

"What happened to the promise of giving Rs 15 lakh in people's bank accounts?" she questioned, taking a dig at the BJP. 

(PTI)

Residents of a village in the Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency decided to boycott the elections on Friday to protest against the issue of encroachments, prompting the collector to visit the place and appeal to them.

Polling in Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in Marathwada began on Friday morning.

Parbhani Collector and returning officer Raghunath Gawde arrived at Balsa Khurd village, located around 7 km from Parbhani city, and interacted with villagers, urging them to vote.

The village, which has 1,200 voters, boycotted the elections over the longstanding issue of encroachments.

(PTI)

A voter turnout of 35.73% was recorded till 1 pm in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh in phase two of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, according to officials.

Election Commission officials said 40.67% votes were polled in Amroha, 38.33% in Meerut, 34.17% in Baghpat, 33.99% in Ghaziabad, 36.05% in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 35.35% in Bulandshahr, 35.55% in Aligarh and 32.70$ in Mathura till 11 am.

(PTI)

The returning officer of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency has filed a report stating that there was no prima facie evidence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar violating the Model Code of Conduct through his “funds for votes” remarks.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) had filed a complaint against Ajit Pawar with the Election Commission of India alleging the violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act.

At a poll rally at Indapur in Baramati constituency, Ajit Pawar recently said, “...As far as funds are concerned, we will cooperate to give you as much as you want, but at the same time, the EVM button needs to be pressed in abundance. If the EVM button is pressed in abundance, I will also feel good allocating funds, or else, I will have to restrict myself,” Pawar holds the finance portfolio in the state.

A swarm of bees attacked voters as they queued up to cast their vote. At least 15 people were attacked by the bees as fire service personnel rushed to the site, as per Indian Express. the injured voters were rescued and shifted to Khowai District Hospitals. Polling reportedly resumed after a short break.

"Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will enter the fray to protest against Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and seek votes for AAP candidates. It will start from Delhi tomorrow. On April 27, she will hold a roadshow in East Delhi Lok Sabha," Atishi said at a press conference.

"Then she will hold a roadshow in the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on April 28. Sunita Kejriwal will also visit Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. People of Delhi, Punjab as well as from the entire country will vote in the favour of Arvind Kejriwal," the Delhi minister added.

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.% 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.

The voter turnout was 12.26% at 9.20 am and rose to 16% and then 19.06% at 10 am and 10.20 am, respectively.

Later it increased to 26.26% at 11.20 am and 31.06% at 12 noon.

A jawan of the Madhya Pradesh Special Armed Force deployed on poll duty died allegedly by suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on Friday, police said.

The incident took place around 9.30 am at a government school in Kudedadar village under Piparchhedi police station limits where security personnel on poll duty have been stationed, a police official said.

Head Constable Jiyalal Pawar allegedly shot himself with his service rifle in a room at the school, he said. He was in the reserve team and was not deployed for active poll work, the official said.

No suicide note was found at the spot, he said, adding that a probe was underway.

The Election Commission said in 2022 that there are more than 2.5 lakh voters who are over 100 years old in India. According to the latest data, the most centenarian voters are in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Maharashtra: 56, 810
Uttar Pradesh: 32, 872
Bihar: 21, 576

Voters of 44/68 Raima Valley Assembly segment, in a remote area of the Dhalai district, use boats to arrive at their polling booth.

People in village Akarvaas in Block Pahasu, Shikarpur today boycotted voting in polling booth number 199, in Lok Sabha polls. Voting started after the intervention by SDM and CO Shikarpur.

SDM Shikarpur Priyanka Goyal says, "Villagers say that one particular path has not been constructed and it's filled with water in the village. This is the reason behind the vote boycott. We had not received any complaints regarding this before today."

About 28.15% of voters cast their ballots till 11 am in six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the second phase of general elections on Friday, an official said.

The polling began at 7 am and is going on peacefully in all the six Lok Sabha seats, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan told PTI.

Till 11 am, Damoh recorded a voter turnout of 26.84%, Hoshangabad 32.40%, Khajuraho 28.14%, Rewa 24.46%, Satna 30.32% and Tikamgarh 26.96%$, the official said.

The early voters include Union minister Prahlad Patel in Damoh Lok Sabha seat, which he represented in 2019, and Union minister Virendra Kumar and his wife in Tikamgarh seat. Kumar has represented the Tikamgarh seat three times and is seeking a fourth term.

The nomination process for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls to be held on May 20 across 49 constituencies commenced on Friday.

The Election Commission issued a notification on behalf of the President, kick-starting the nomination process.

The 49 seats are spread across eight states and the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

"We respect SC order but 100% verification of VVPAT slips should happen," the former Chhattisgarh CM said.  The Congress leader is contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Rajnandgaon constituency.

A case was registered against BJP candidate K Sudhakar for alleged bribery and undue influence on electorate and cash worth Rs 4.8 crores was also seized, the Election Commission said on Friday.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer on Friday said the FST of Chikkaballapura seized cash worth 4.8 crores.

An FIR also has been registered by the state surveillance team of Chikkaballapura Constituency against K Sudhakar, BJP candidate on April 25 at Madanayakanahally police station.

-SC says democracy is about striving to build harmony and blindly distrusting poll process can lead to unwarranted suspicion

-SC directs EC to seal symbol loading units for 45 days after symbols loaded to EVMs

-SC allows verification of microcontroller of EVMs by manufacturer after poll results on request of candidates who stand second and third

-SC says request for verification of microcontroller of EVMs can be made within 7 days of declaration of poll results upon payment of fees

-If EVM is found tampered during verification the fee paid by candidates will be refunded

The Supreme Court has rejected all the petitions seeking 100% verification of Electronic Voting Machines votes with their Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail slips. The apex court said the country can not go back to the use of ballot papers.

Mamata Banerjee's TMC filed 31 complaints between 9 and 10 am in the 2nd phase of Lok Sabha elections. Out of these, at least 17 were connected to the Balurghat constituency.

An estimated 9.15% of 77,26,668 electors voted till 9 am in five parliamentary constituencies of Assam, where polling is underway in the second phase on Friday, officials said.

The highest polling of 14.13% was recorded in Diphu (ST), followed by 9.61% in Karimganj, 9.16% at Darrang-Udalguri, 9.07% in Nagaon and the lowest 5.49% in Silchar, they said.

Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.

Nearly 15.7% of 51.17 lakh voters in three Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal exercised their franchise till 9 am on Friday, an Election Commission official said.

Polling began at 7 am in Darjeeling, Balurghat and Raiganj constituencies and would continue till 6 pm.

Raiganj registered the highest voter turnout of 16.46%, while Darjeeling recorded 15.74% and Balurghat 14.74%, till 9 am, he said.

So far, the commission has registered 241 complaints, mostly related to EVM malfunctioning, the official said.

BJP West Bengal chief and Balurghat candidate Sukanta Majumdar reportedly clashed with voters as he arrived at his polling both on Friday. According to Indian Express, Majumdar started agruing with the voters and claimed a BJP party worker was beaten up outside the booth.

The TMC had earlier alleged that central forces were "sabotating democracy in Bengal."
The party claimed that voting has been stopped in Balurghat after a "brutal assault" was unleashed on voters.

"Today is a celebration day in Karnataka. it is a festival of democracy. Millions of people will go out and vote. This is not just a right, but also a duty, because if we don't vote, we are not registering our voice, and contributing meaningfully to a democracy. Just like every year, more senior citizens are seen at the booths, they are coming out in big numbers to vote. I wish young people draw inspiration from senior citizens and also come out in big numbers and vote," the BJP leader said.

Mamata Banerjee's TMC said alleged that central forces were "sabotating democracy in Bengal."
The party claimed that voting has been stopped in Balurghat after a "brutal assault" was unleashed on voters.

With polling already underway for phase 2, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will move his focus to the next leg. The Wayanad MP will hold two public meetings on April 26.

Gandhi will address public meetings in district headquarters towns of Vijayapura and Ballari in Karnataka on Friday. He is scheduled to address the election rally in Vijayapura (Bijapur) at 12.30 pm. He will then fly to Ballari for the second public meeting, slated to begin at 3.30 pm.

The Samajwadi Party has listed alleged cases of glitched EVMs and delayed polling on social media. 

"Information of EVM machine malfunctioning for a long time at booth number 119 in Asara village in Chhaprauli assembly of Baghpat Lok Sabha."

"Information of malfunctioning of EVM machine at booth number 185 in Khurja of Gautam Buddha Nagar Lok Sabha."

"EVM machine at booth number 222, Jain Inter College, Khekra, Baghpat Lok Sabha constituency has been out of order for the past 1 hour. Voters are facing problems."

Kerala has registered a voter turnout of 5.62% in the first hour of voting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, as per news agency PTI.

Orignally scheduled to go to polls on April 26, Betul's name was scrapped from the list 89 constituencies in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The polls were postponed to the third phase (May 7) after BSP candidate Ashok Bhalavi died due to a heart attack on April 9.

The party then fielded Arjun Bhalavi, son of its deceased candidate Ashok Bhalavi, from Betul Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh.

Under section 52 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, an election is adjourned if the candidate of a recognised national or state party dies before the polling to allow it to field a new candidate.

Amid tight security arrangements, voting began in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu constituency on Friday, with more than 17.81 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 22 candidates.

The Jammu Lok Sabha seat is one of the 89 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories across the country where polling is being held.

The polling began at 7 am at all 2,416 polling stations across the constituency and it is going on smoothly, officials said.

(PTI)

Pink booths have been set up for 2nd phase of the Lok Sabha elections in multiple polling constituencies. Photos from Karnataka and Meerut were posted on social media on Friday. The 'Sakhi Pink Booths' are only managed by women.

Polling time has been extended in some constituencies in Bihar till 6pm. NDTV reported that the extension has been ordered in some stations of Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka constituencies. 

-88 parliamentary constituencies at stake.
-16 lakh Polling officials deployed.
-15.88 crore voters registered to case vote across 1.67 lakh polling stations.
-8.08 crore male; 7.8 crore female and 5929 third gender electors in listed.
-1202 candidates (males - 1098; females-102; third gender – 02) are in the fray.- 34.8 lakh first time voters are registered to cast their votes.
-3 Helicopters, 4 special trains and nearly 80,000 vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel.
-4553 flying squads, 5731 static surveillance teams, 1462 video, surveillance teams and 844 video viewing teams.

(Source: Election Commission of India)

"Today is the voting day for the second phase of the Lok Sabha Election. I appeal to all of you, who are exercising your right to vote today, to participate in this celebration of democracy with full enthusiasm and cast votes in record numbers for a strong, secure, and prosperous nation. Choose a government that prioritises the development of the country, ensures border security, restores heritage, and makes powerful decisions in the national interest. Every vote of yours will contribute to strengthening the foundation of a developed India. Encourage your friends and relatives to vote as well," Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on social media.

The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections began on April 26. Here is a recap of phase 1:

The elections were flagged off on April 19, with the first phase seeing polling in 102 constituencies. It was the largest of the seven phases.  The overall voter turnout on the day was 65.5%, according to the Election Commission.

With 88 constituencies at stake, phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections promises to be a high voltage clash. Prominent candidates from key constituencies were the ballot when polls opened at 7 AM.
Here is a list of candidates to look out for in the second phase:

1) Rahul Gandhi- Congress- Wayanad
2) Shashi Tharoor- Congress-  Thiruvananthapuram
3) Om Birla- BJP- Kota Bundi
4) Tejasvi Surya- BJP- Bangalore South
5) Hema Malini- BJP- Mathura
6) H.D. Kumaraswamy- Janata Dal (Secular)- Mandya
7) Shobha Karandlaje- BJP- Bangalore North
8) Bhupesh Bhagel- Congress- Rajnandgaon
9) Arun Govil- BJP- Meerut
10) Mahesh Sharma- BJP- Gautam Buddha Nagar