NEW DELHI: Nearly 63 percent of voter turnout was reported in the polling held in 88 constituencies in the second phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections across 13 states and union territories on Friday. In all, 1,200 candidates, including four from Outer Manipur, were in the fray.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under Prime Minister Modi is seeking a third consecutive term, while the opposition INDIA bloc, which tasted defeat in the 2014 and 2019 elections, is hoping for a rebound.
In the second phase, polling was held in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 out of 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight each seat in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five each seats in Assam and Bihar, three each seat in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each seat in Manipur, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Kerala registered a vover turnout of 65.23 percent. A polling agent died after collapsing at a booth in Kozhikode, and there were reports of one death per person in Palakkad, Alappuzha, and Malappuram districts. It’s said that they died after casting their votes.
There were a few complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting in some states. However, the Election Commission (EC) said polling was largely peaceful.
Polling held in 7 seats in Assam, Manipur, and Tripura amid tight security
GUWAHATI: Voting in seven constituencies in north-east India, including five in Assam and one each in Manipur and Tripura, was held on Friday amid tight security. Manipur witnessed incidents of violence and rigging during the polls.
Assam registered a voter turnout of 60.32 percent, Manipur 77.18 percent, and Tripura recorded 78.53 percent polling.
In Assam, Muslims are a dominant community in Nagaon and Karimganj constituencies. They are in sizable numbers in Silchar and Darrang-Udalguri. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won four out of these five seats, while the Congress managed to win Nagaon.
In Nagaon, sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi is taking on the BJP’s Suresh Bora, who switched over to the saffron outfit from the Congress ahead of the elections.
In all, there are 24 candidates in the fray in Karimganj, eight each in Darrang-Udalguri and Silchar, and five candidates in Diphu.
In Manipur, the Ukhrul area witnessed clashes between two rival groups and EVM rigging, despite elaborate security arrangements made by the election commission. The state had witnessed firing, threats to voters, damage to EVMs, and alleged rigging at several booths in the first phase of polling, forcing re-polling at many places. There are over four lakh voters to seal the fate of four candidates.
In Tripura, polling was held for the East Tripura constituency in the second phase. Nine candidates are in fray in this constituency; among them prominent are BJP candidate Kriti Devi Debbarma and INDIA block candidate Rajendra Reang.
The EC said people from 46 villages in Bastar and Kanker exercised their franchise for the first time in a polling booth set up in their own village.
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