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Festival of Demiocracy: 62% turnout in phase 1
Sporadic incidents of violence in Bengal, Manipur
New Delhi: Over 62 per cent polling was reported till 5 pm in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories amid sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal while an accidental explosion of a grenade launcher shell in Chhattisgarh left a CRPF jawan dead.
An Election Commission spokesperson said the turnout figure was only approximate and polling was held "smoothly and peacefully".
While voting for the first and biggest phase of the seven-phased elections began at 7 am in all constituencies, it ended at 6 pm in most of the seats.
Sporadic incidents of violence are being reported during ongoing elections in West Bengal where polling is being held on three seats – Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. By 10 am both TMC and BJP had lodged dozens of complaints each with the Election Commission for violence in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat.
In Chhattisgarh, a Barel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) cell blast was reported in Naxal-hit Bastar region 500 meters from a polling booth in Galgam area of Bijapur while elections were underway. A security personnel who was part of a team conducting area domination exercises was injured in the blast, as per reports.
The other states and Union Territories where elections are being held in the first phase on Friday 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. The state is witnessing a three-cornered fight after Prime Minister Modi’s campaign blitz in the run up to elections.
Voting is also being held simultaneously in 92 Assembly Constituencies in the State Assembly Elections in Arunachal and Sikkim today.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is seeking a record third term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has set a target of winning 400 seats this election. The ruling alliance is challenged by the Opposition parties led by the Congress under the banner of INDIA bloc.
The counting of votes for all seven phases of Lok Sabha Elections will take place on June 4.
