Lok Sabha Elections 2024 highlights: Over 60% voter turnout in Phase 1 of LS polls
An aggregate 60.03 per cent voter turnout was recorded in phase one of the Lok Sabha polls on Friday
An aggregate 60.03 per cent voter turnout was recorded in phase one of the Lok Sabha polls on Friday, the Election Commission (EC) said.
While the figures were issued after the conclusion of polls, the commission said people who were in the queue when voting ended at 6 pm were allowed to exercise their franchise.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 PM in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
Polling took place in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories in the first of the seven-phase elections.
The commission described the turnout as "high", noting that voting remained "largely peaceful".
In the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the voter turnout was recorded at 69.43 per cent. Some of the constituencies were different then and the total number of seats which went to polls were 91.
States, including Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep completed their voting process on Friday in single-phase election.
For the first time, people in 56 villages in Bastar in Chhattisgarh cast their vote in polling booths set up in their own villages.
The poll authority pointed out that in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, voters belonging to the tribal communities came out in large numbers. The Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar made history by casting vote for the first time.
Voters braved the heat in most parts of the country while, at others, they waited patiently in pouring rain.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)
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Voting percentage for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections
60.03 per cent aggregate voter turnout at 7 pm in phase one of Lok Sabha polls, says EC
Over 60% voter turnout in Phase 1 of Lok Sabha elections
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West Bengal records 77.57% voter turnout till 5pm, highest amongst State/UTs voting today
54.68 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm in Bijnor Lok Sabha seat, 58.05 per cent in Nagina Lok Sabha seat.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi files his nomination in Telangana’s Hyderabad constituency
Over 45 per cent voting in Uttarakhand by 3 pm
Vidisha: Former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Vidisha files his nomination
Sachin Pilot casts his vote
Union Home Minister Amit Shah files his nomination papers from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat
West Bengal: Reports of stone pelting in Chandmari village, CoochBehar, amid first phase polling for Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Tamil Nadu: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev casts his vote for the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections2024 in Coimbatore
Arunachal Pradesh CM casts his vote
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu says "Today is the mega festival of democracy and voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections is underway. I expect that the number of voters this year will surpass the number of voters in 2019. BJP is going to make history in the state. We will also win both Lok Sabha seats. In the previous election, BJP got 41 seats and we hope that this time BJP will get 60 out of 60 seats..."
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam casts his vote in Theni, says BJP alliance will win in Tamil Nadu.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami casts his voteUttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his mother and wife cast his vote for the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 at a polling station in Khatima.
Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma casts his voteRajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma says, "There is great enthusiasm...I would like to appeal to you today that this is a festival of democracy - do cast your vote. Your votes will strengthen our democracy, our country...I would like to tell you that Rajasthan will repeat the history of 2014 and 2019 - I am confident."
'I am proud to cast my vote. All voters should vote': TN CM StalinTamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin shows his inked finger after casting his vote in the first phase in Chennai.
Assam: Congress MP and candidate from Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, Gaurav Gogoi casts his vote at a polling booth in Jorhat.
PM Narendra Modi urged young and first time voters to come out and in large numbers.
"The 2024 Lok Sabha elections commence today! As 102 seats across 21 States and UTs go to the polls, I urge all those voting in these seats to exercise their franchise in record numbers. I particularly call upon the young and first time voters to vote in large numbers. After all, every vote counts and every voice matters!" he wrote on X on Friday morning.
Chhindwara | Congress leader & former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath says, "I have full faith in the people of Chhindwara. They are the witness of the work we have done..."
His son and Congress leader Nakul Nath is contesting from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat
Tamil Nadu: Congress leader P Chidambaram casts his vote at a polling booth in Sivaganga.
Nagpur, Maharashtra: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat shows his inked finger after casting his vote in the first phase
Bihar: Visuals from Polling booth number 187 in Gaya
Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and SikkimVoting will also be held for 92 assembly seats in the state elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim on Friday.
Visuals from polling booth number 235 in Cooch Behar, West Bengal
Prominent facesAmong the prominent leaders trying their electoral luck in phase one are Union ministers Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh (West), Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner, Sarbanada Sonowal from Dibrugarh in Assam, Sanjeev Baliyan from Muzaffarnagar in western UP, Jitendra Singh from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and Bhupendra Yadav from Alwar in Rajasthan.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana and Lt Governor of Puducherry to return to active politics, is contesting from Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency. Nakul Nath, son of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, is seeking reelection from Chhindwara.
Key contestOf the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Tripura, the seat of West Tripura that votes in the first phase will see a high-voltage clash between former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha.
35.67 lakh first time votersVoters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years. A total of 41 helicopters, 84 special trains and nearly one lakh vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel, the poll panel pointed out.
First phase largest of the 7 phasesAs many as 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls in the first phase which is also the largest of the seven phases of the elections.
Voting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pmVoting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm, though the closure of poll timings differs in some seats. The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations where over 16.63 crore voters will exercise their franchise.