Loksabha election first phase of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections began in 21 states and Union territories today. Nearly 64% voter turnout was recorded pm across the states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the completion of Phase-1: “First phase, great response! Thank you to all those who have voted today. Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. It’s clear that people across India are voting for NDA in record numbers.”
The 2024 general elections are set to take place in seven phases across the country, ending on June 1. The counting of votes and result declaration for the Lok Sabha election will take place on June 4.
In the first phase, an average voter turnout of 60.03% was recorded till 7pm, and could rise.
Elections were also held in the following Union Territories – Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA is eyeing its third consecutive term this general election, with echoes of ‘Abki baar 400 paar’.
More than 16.63 crore voters, which include over 8 crore men and women each, cast their vote at nearly 2 lakh polling stations.
The opposition INDIA bloc is taking an economical approach to their campaign, promising MSP for farmers and cash handouts to women in their manifesto.
Various Union Minister’s constituency in this first Loksabha polls
Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Sarbananda Sonowal are in the fray in the first phase. Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, DMK’s Kanimozhi and BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai are also contesting the polls today.
While the BJP-led NDA is seeking a stronger majority, the opposition INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound.
In 2019, the UPA had won 45 of the 102 seats at stake on Friday and the NDA 41. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
The states and Union Territories where elections were held in the first phase include Arunachal Pradesh (2 seats), Assam (5 seats), Bihar (4 seats), Chhattisgarh (1 seat), Madhya Pradesh (6 seats), Maharashtra (5 seats), Manipur (2 seats), Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1 seat), Nagaland (1 seat), Rajasthan (12 seats), Sikkim (1 seat), Tamil Nadu (39 seats), Tripura (1 seat), Uttar Pradesh (8 seats), Uttarakhand (5 seats), Andaman and Nicobar (1 seat), Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat), Lakshadweep (1 seat) and Puducherry (1 seat). All 39 seats of Tamil Nadu are going to polls in the first phase.
Udhampur sees 65% voter turnout till 5 pm as J&K votes for first time after Article 370 repeal
The Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir recorded nearly 65% voter turnout till 5 pm on Friday. Around 43 percent of the total electors in the constituency had cast their votes till 1 pm and approximately 58 percent turnout was recorded till 3 pm.
Udhampur is the only Lok Sabha constituency of J&K that went to polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. There are a total five Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the first elections n Jammu and Kashmir after Article 370 was abrogated by the Centre in 2019.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded Union Minister Jitendra Singh as its candidate from Udhampur. He is contesting against Congress leader and two-time former MP Choudhary Lal Singh and the DPAP’s G M Saroori, besides six independents.
Key Candidates in UP Lok Sabha Elections 2024
Eight crucial constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, including Pilibhit and Rampur, will also elect their representatives.
In Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit will go to polls.
Jitin Prasada, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP, will take on Samajwadi Party’s Bhagwat Saran Gangwar and BSP’s Anis Ahmed Khan.
Voting has taken place in favour of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). We are sure that we will win all four seats,” says RJD leader and ex-Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.
In Kairana, BJP’s Pradeep Chaudhary will take on Sripal Rana of BSP and Iqra Hasan of SP. In Muzaffarnagar, BJP’s stalwart Sanjeev Kumar Balyan will take on SP’s Harendra Singh Malik and BSP’s Dara Singh Prajapati.
Rampur is a very crucial constituency for the BJP as it comes under the sphere of influence of jailed Samajwadi Party stalwart, Azam Khan. In Moradabad, BJP’s Sarvesh Singh will take on BSP’s Irfan Saifi and SP’s Ruchi Veera.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha elections recorded 72.09% turnout as of 7 pm
Polling ended in all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on April 19 in the first phase of the 2024 general elections as the BJP’s ambition to emerge as a force challenging Dravidian parties in the State was tested. The BJP drew a blank in 2019.
New kind of malpractice which DMK has adopted in this election to try to keep away voters will fails this time, they are going to vote for the BJP: Vinoj P Selvam, BJP candidate from Chennai Central constituency
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the State’s conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politic. taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption. The Prime Minister visited many temples in the run-up to the elections, especially in the days ahead of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in January.
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