Voting to be held for 102 LS seats in 1st of the 7 phases
New Delhi: The 2024 Lok Sabha polls kicks off on Friday with voting for 102 seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world’s largest electoral exercise as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term in office.
Over 16.63 crore people are eligible to vote on Friday.
India has nearly 97 crore registered voters for elections to the 543-member Lok Sabha, with BJP’s ambition to emerge as a force challenging the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu and determination to retain its strongholds across the country set to be put to a stern test and the Opposition INDIA bloc facing a herculean task to dislodge the BJP-led NDA.
In the first phase, there are 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Counting of votes in the elections that will conclude on June 1 will be taken up on June 4.
Polling will be held for 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).
Besides, there will be voting in 12 seats in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh.
Simultaneously, assembly elections will be held in Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats).
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase are Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Sarbananda Sonowal, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress and DMK’s Kanimozhi. An aggressive K Annamalai, who is steering the BJP campaign in Tamil Nadu, is also among the contestants.
Polling will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm. The voters comprise 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender.
The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations.
While the National Democratic alliance (NDA) under the Prime Minister is seeking a stronger majority, the constituents of the INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Besides Gadkari, Sonowal, seven other Union ministers – Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan and Nisith Pramanik – are in the poll fray in the first phase.
Two former chief ministers – Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh) – and Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana to return to active politics, also figure in Friday’s poll battle. Soundararajan is contesting from Chennai South on BJP ticket.
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.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday urged people to cast their ballot and reminded people of the significance of each vote, saying there have been instances when one vote has mattered in a critical contest.
Elections are the most beautiful expression of India’s democracy and there is “nothing like voting”, he said in a video message.
In view of the heatwave conditions, Kumar said people must take all precautions. “But I know the spirit of the Indian voter will beat the summer heat,” he added.
In Tamil Nadu, which accounts for the largest number of seats in the first phase, the BJP had drawn a blank in 2019. This time though, the BJP conducted a spirited campaign, led by the Prime Minister, in a bid to gain a foothold in the Dravidian land.
The election mood set in pretty early in the state in January, with Modi making repeated visits and declaring development and honour for Tamil language and culture as his main election plank. The BJP has also denounced the DMK-Congress alliance over alleged corruption and dynasty politics.