Chandigarh: People defied hot weather and humidity and came out to vote in the Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency, which recorded 52.61% by 3 PM. According to meteorological data, the heat record amounted to 43.5°C at 2:30 PM, resulting in reduced voting rates in the afternoon compared to the morning moments, with many polling centers lacking the long queues observed earlier.
The Election Commission reported that 40% of the Chandigarh voters exercised their franchise till 1 PM, and 25% voting was recorded in the first four hours of polling that commenced at 7 AM. More than 59 lakh voters would be exercising their franchise to elect a new member of the parliament for the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency as nineteen candidates are in the fray. The Congress and BJP are set to lock horns; Manish Tewari is contesting the seat for Congress while Sanjay Tandon fights for BJP as India moves to the final and decisive round of the Lok Sabha polls.
In the last General election in 2019, Chandigarh achieved a voter turnout ratio of 74% out of the entire electorate, and such a percentage this year will be hard to achieve. This year, the Congress and how are fighting together as partners within the India bloc against other teams, while AAP is a partner with them in INDIA.
Voter interest was at a high with officials emphasizing that the rates of voting in the areas they supervised were higher than expected. There was appeased activity observed among the colonies as compared to the more sophisticated sectors where people were much more keen to vote. This trend was evident in the percentage turnout rates that were recorded from the colonies, showing that these areas were actively participating, although in the heat of the sun.
It was clear that in the electoral battle for Chandigarh, both candidates were trying to put more effort into canvassing and polling, Tewari and Tandon. The alliance that was formed between the Congress and AAP was to capture their respective votes in that area needed the protection of the partnership with the other members in the INDIA bloc to counterbalance the BJP.
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