Voting for the second phase Lok Sabha elections began today morning at 7AM in 88 constituencies across 12 states and union territories. Today, 1206 candidates from 12 States and UTs along with 4 candidates from the Outer Manipur Parliamentary constituency will contest, the Election Commission of India (ECI) confirmed.
All 20 seats in Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls today.
The prominent contestants in the fray for the second phase are Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, Hema Malini and Arun Govil, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Further encouraging people to reach their polling booths, ECI posted a picture of a voter and wrote on X, “Every vote counts! A proud voter showcasing his inked finger after casting his vote in 2nd Phase of Lok Sabha Election at Kalimpong district, West Bengal”.
In 2019, the NDA had won 56 of the 89 seats and the UPA 24. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
Out of the seven stages, the first phase of the elections were held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories. The polls saw a voter turnout of around 65.5%.
The electrifying election campaign for the second phase ended at 5PM on Wednesday as top leaders of the BJP-led NDA and opposition INDIA bloc used all they could to voo the voters.
Lok Sabha Election 2024: Phase-wise schedule:
• Phase 1- April 19
• Phase 2- April 26
• Phase 3- May 7
• Phase 4 – May 13
• Phase 5 – May 20
• Phase 6 – May 25
• Phase 7 – June 1
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