Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections was held on Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories.
Violence was reported in some parts of West Bengal and Manipur and the voter turnout fell from the figure in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The ruling Trinamool Congress alleged BJP supporters of creating chaos and thrashing their party workers in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, and even threatening voters. Meanwhile, in Manipur, unknown miscreants fired near a polling station in Thamanpokpi and violence was also reported at Iroisemba polling station. Despite that, the voter turnout was among the highest in Manipur (67.46%) and Bengal (77.57%) when the polling concluded.
The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the Opposition is hoping to turn the tables under the INDIA bloc. All eyes are on Tamil Nadu, where voting is underway in all 39 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP is hoping for a better turnout in the southern state where PM Modi has campaigned extensively.
The voter turnout till 6 pm was 59.71 per cent with the highest percentage in West Bengal at 77.57 per cent. The figure fell from the first phase of polling in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when a voter turnout of 69.43 per cent was recorded.
The overall voter turnout in 21 states and Union Territories was recorded at 59.71 per cent till 6 pm. West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 77.57%, followed by Tripura at 76.10% and Puducherry at 72.84% among others. Bihar recorded the lowest turnout at 46.32%.
Several prominent leaders and personalities have cast their votes, including Congress veteran P Chidambaram, his son and Sivaganga candidate Karti Chidambaram, legendary actor Rajinikanth, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin.
Congress veteran P Chidambaram cast his vote from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, and exuded confidence in the INDIA bloc sweeping all 39 seats in the southern state. “This is the first phase of elections, there are seven phases…Today all of Tamil Nadu votes and I am absolutely confident that we will win all seats,” he told reporters.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved’s Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna cast their votes at a polling booth in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar.
Tamil Nadu BJP president and party candidate from Coimbatore seat K Annamalai cast his vote at Uthupatti polling booth in Karur village. Annamalai said the time of Dravidian politics was over in the state and accused DMK and AIADMK of spending more than Rs 1,000 crore in Coimbatore to influence the voters.
Union Minister and BJP candidate from Cooch Behar Nisith Pramanik cast his vote. Speaking to reporters afterwards, he claimed that the ruling Trinamool Congress is attempting to prevent “people from reaching the booths”. “People are fully prepared to oppose TMC goons,” he added.
Ahead of the polls today, the Trinamool Congress filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Pramanik, accusing him of controlling central forces, stockpiling weapons at home and giving shelter to miscreants.
In the first phase, polling is being held on all seats in 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). Besides, there is voting in 12 seats in 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.
Simultaneously, assembly elections are being held in 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh and 32 in Sikkim.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to urge citizens to vote in “record numbers”. “I particularly call upon the young and first time voters to vote in large numbers. After all, every vote counts and every voice matters,” PM Modi tweeted. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also urged citizens to vote in “large numbers”.
Of the 102 seats going to polls on Friday, the NDA had won 41 seats in the 2019 elections while the Congress-led UPA bloc emerged victorious in 45 constituencies. This time, however, six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
Overall, the Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations on the 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories. The seven-phase elections will conclude on June 4, when the results will be announced.