OVER 63 per cent polling was reported in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections covering 88 seats across 13 States amid few complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting in some states. Voters in some villages of Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, Rajasthan’s Banswara and Maharashtra’s Parbhani were boycotting the polls over various issues but were later persuaded by authorities to cast their franchise. Polling for the second stage of the seven-phase elections started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm. Several states experienced intense heat conditions. The first phase of polling was held on April 19 in 102 seats across 21 States and Union Territories. The Election Commission (EC) said polling remained largely peaceful. The tentative figure at 8 pm of voter turnout was 63.50 per cent. It is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained, the EC said, adding voters reaching polling stations till the end of polling hour are allowed to cast their vote.

 

The National Democratic alliance (NDA) under Prime Minister Modi is seeking a stronger majority for a third consecutive term, while the constituents of the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Election Commission data showed the highest voting percentage was recorded in Tripura which registered 79.46 per cent polling, followed by Manipur at 77.32 while the turnout of 57.83 per cent was recorded in eight constituencies in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh recored 54.85 per cent and Bihar 55.08 per cent voting turnout.

 

Polling was held in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 6 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. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh (Cong), and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) are among the key candidates while BJP’s Hema Malini, Om Birla and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking a hat-trick of wins from their respective constituencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the morning urged people to cast their votes in record numbers and said a high voter turnout strengthens democracy. Stressing on the importance of each vote, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi issued impassioned appeals asking people to step out and exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. In Kerala, the turnout was 65.91 per cent. The election process, held amid 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. Such incidents resulted in delaying the polling process in the affected booths. One person each reportedly died at Palakkad, Alappuzha and Malappuram after casting their vote and a polling agent died after collapsing at a booth in Kozhikode.

 

Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency recorded a turnout of 79.46 per cent. Election officials said there were some complaints from a few booths but those were “promptly addressed”. In Chhattisgarh a voter turnout of 73.62 per cent was recorded. A polling booth at Sivni village in Balod district (Kanker seat) was decorated like a wedding ‘mandap’, with a display of rituals of traditional weddings. Several brides and grooms, dressed in their wedding finery, cast their votes at several polling booths. The EC said people from 46 villages in Bastar and Kanker seats cast their votes in a polling booth set up in their own village for the first time in a Lok Sabha election. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, there was a turnout of 57.88 per cent. An estimated 71.11 per cent of the 77,26,668 voters exercised their franchise in the five parliamentary constituencies of Assam that went to polls in this phase. In restive Manipur, where polling is being held under high presence of security personnel, the turnout was a significantly high 77.32 per cent. There were reports of intimidation by suspected militants, altercation between Congress workers and NPF supporters and damage of EVM at a polling station in the Tangkhul Naga-dominated hill district. At KK Leishi Phanit polling station in Ukhrul, irate voters destroyed an EVM and other items after alleged disturbances by armed miscreants.

 

The overall voting percentage in Karnataka was 68.30. A case was booked against BJP MP and Bangalore South Candidate Tejasvi Surya for allegedly posting a video on a social media platform and soliciting votes on the grounds of religion, the Election Commission said. Another BJP leader CT Ravi was booked for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity between citizens through his social media post. Various restaurants in Bangalore were offering free dosas, laddu, coffee and other food items at discounted rates to customers who cast their vote. A private hospital assisted 41 inpatients cast their vote with the help of city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Green corridors were created for the ambulances across constituencies to ensure easy, hassle-free voting. Some EVMs were destroyed at a polling station in Indiganatha village in Chamarajanagara district of Karnataka during a clash between two groups of people over whether to vote or not. Officials said an FIR is being filed the Election Commission will take a call after getting a detailed report. In Rajasthan the turnout was 64.07 per cent. Incidents of confrontation between the supporters of the Congress candidate and an independent candidate were reported at a couple of places during polling in Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha constituency of Rajasthan. Police said they were looking into the complaints besides some about fake voting from some places. The by-election for the Bagidora Assembly constituency in Banswara district was also held simultaneously on Friday and 76.66 per cent voting took place. A voter turnout of 54.85 per cent was recorded in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. Senior citizens dominated the early hours of voting in Noida in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency. Some residents’ welfare associations made arrangements for electric vehicles to ferry voters to and from the polling booths. In Bihar, the turnout was 55.08 per cent, 71.84 per cent in in West Bengal and 71.91 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The Lok Sabha polls are the first major electoral battle in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- on August 5, 2019. The Election Commission registered nearly 300 complaints in West Bengal, mostly related to EVM malfunctioning. After Friday’s phase, polling is over in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura. In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of 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). The third phase of elections for 94 seats across 12 states and Union territories will be held on May 7. Counting will be done on June 4.