Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Campaigning ends for Phase 1

New Delhi: Campaigning for 102 parliamentary constituencies spread across 21 states and Union Territories, where polling would be held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, ends on Wednesday. In the first phase, polling will be held in Arunachal Pradesh (2 seats), Assam (5), Bihar (4), Chhattisgarh (1), Madhya Pradesh (6), Maharashtra (5), Manipur (2),Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Rajasthan (12), Sikkim (1), Tamil Nadu (39), Tripura (1), Uttar Pradesh (8), Uttarakhand (5), West Bengal (3), Andaman and Nicobar (1), Jammu and Kashmir (1), Lakshadweep (1) and Puducherry (1).

On the last day of the campaign, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav -- both partners in opposition’s INDIA bloc -- addressed rallies in Saharanpur and Moradabad in UP.

The seats going to polls in the first phase on Friday are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit in the western region of the state.

Campaigning drew to a close in Uttarakhand at 5 pm, Chief Electoral Officer B V R C Purushottam said at a press conference here. Having won all the five seats in Uttarakhand in both 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP is seeking to retain them for a third term.

Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is contesting in place of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in Haridwar and Anil Baluni in place of Tirath Singh Rawat in Pauri Garhwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP’s campaign, built around the development plank, in Madhya Pradesh for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, with the Congress promising financial dole to women, caste census and the “right” price to farmers for their produce.

Polling will be held in the constituencies of Nagpur, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli of Maharashtra in the first phase on April 19. In Nagpur, a direct fight is on cards between Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress’ Vikas Thakre. In 2019, Gadkari had defeated Congress’ Nana Patole by 2,16,000 votes. The constituency, which also houses the headquarters of the RSS, has a total of 22,18,259 voters including 11,10, 840 male voters, 11,07,197 female and 222 transgender ones.

The high-voltage electioneering came to an end on Wednesday evening in Udhampur parliamentary constituency in Jammu and Kashmir which is witnessing its first major electoral battle since it was bifurcated and downgraded to the status of a Union Territory in 2019.

The polling is slated in Udhampur Lok Sabha seat in the first phase on April 19 and will decide the fate of 12 contestants, including Union Minister Jitendra Singh who is seeking a third term and is facing a major challenge from Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh.

Campaigning for three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal - Cooch Behar (SC), Jalpaiguri (SC) and Alipurduars (ST) - going to polls in the first phase on April 19 came to an end at 6 PM on Wednesday. Woes of the tea garden workers and recognition of the Rajbanshis are among the common key issues in the three seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held public rallies in support of their respective party candidates. Altogether 14 candidates, including sitting MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik, are contesting the parliamentary elections from Cooch Behar.

Acrimonious exchanges between main rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over issues like corruption, poverty and pre-poll promises made by them dominated the high-decibel campaign for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh covering the Bastar seat that ended on Wednesday evening.

Naxal-affected Bastar is the only seat among the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state that will vote in the first phase on April 19, an exercise that will take place in shadow of the major counter-insurgency operation in Kanker district on April 16 in which 29 Maoists, including senior cadres, were gunned down by security forces. Kanker is part of the Bastar region. A total of 11 candidates are in fray in Bastar.