A voter turnout of over 60.96% was recorded till 7 p.m. amid complaints of EVM glitches and bogus voting in some booths in Kerala and West Bengal. Voters in four villages of Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, Rajasthan’s Banswara and Maharashtra’s Parbhani boycott polls; Bru voters from Tripura exercised their franchise for the first time.
In this round of polls, 1,202 candidates, including 1,098 male, 102 female and two transgender contestants, were vying for a seat in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament.
Visual story:Lok Sabha results and voting trends
Polling took place in Kerala (for all 20 seats), Karnataka (14 of the 28 seats), Rajasthan (13 seats), Maharashtra (eight seats), Uttar Pradesh (eight seats), Madhya Pradesh (six seats), Assam (five seats) and Bihar (five seats). Voting is also taking place in Chhattisgarh (three), West Bengal(three), Manipur (one), Tripura (one) and Jammu and Kashmir (one).
Voting in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul, which was scheduled to be held on April 26, was shifted to the third phase on May 7 following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Ashok Balawi.
Also read: Analysis of Candidates contesting in phase 2 polling
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP, and actor-turned-politicians Hema Malini and Arun Govil were among some of the prominent candidates on the ballot today.
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy accused the ECI of not ensuring transparency in parliamentary elections in the Bengaluru Rural constituency and alleged that the Congress candidate had distributed gift coupons with QR codes to voters. He also claimed that Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP workers were attacked when they tried to prevent distribution of the material.
Also read :Lok Sabha elections: Severe heat wave predicted in many states during second phase of polling
Meanwhile, the Election Commission had issued notices to BJP chief J.P. Nadda on complaints of poll code violations by PM Modi during his election rally speech. A similar notice was also issued to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over complaints by the BJP against Rahul Gandhi.
Also Read: On plea for fresh elections in places where NOTA emerges winner, SC seeks EC reply
Mr. Kharge also wrote to Modi, after the PM’s repeated attacks on Congress manifesto, saying that Modi was being “misinformed” and offered to meet him in person to explain the manifesto. Click here to know the latest updates from the polling in Kerala and Karnataka
Here are the latest updates:
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APRIL 26, 2024 19:29Maharashtra records 53.71% voter turnout until 6 p.m.
The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections in eight constituencies in Maharashtra concluded peacefully without any major untoward incidents. The voter turnout averaged at 53.71% until 6 p.m.
Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, will vote in three more phases between May 7 and May 20.
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APRIL 26, 2024 19:18LS polls phase-2 has been ‘too good’ for NDA: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, “Phase Two has been too good! Gratitude to the people across India who have voted today. The unparalleled support for NDA is going to disappoint the Opposition even more.” “Voters want NDA’s good governance. Youth and women voters are powering the strong NDA support.”
The prime minister had made a similar assertion after phase one of voting on April 19, saying the ruling alliance has seen a great response.
It is clear that people across India are voting for the NDA in record numbers, he had said. – PTI
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APRIL 26, 2024 19:09Tripura leads with 77.53% voter turnout till 5 p.m.; UP at lowest with 52.74%
Tripura continues to lead the voter turnout charts in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections with 77.53% voting till 5 p.m., while Uttar Pradesh has registered the lowest turnout with 52.74%, according to the data released by the Election Commission of India.
Manipur – 76.06%
West Bengal – 71.84%
Chhattisgarh – 72.13%
Assam – 70.66%
Maharashtra – 53.51%
Bihar – 53.03%
Madhya Pradesh – 54.83%
Rajasthan – 59.19%
Kerala – 63.97%
Karnataka – 63.90%
Jammu and Kashmir – 67.22%
– ANI
Source: thehindu.com
