The election, which kicked off on April 19, is the second longest polling exercise that the country will witness in its electoral history after the first general election, which was held over five months between September 1951 and February 1952.
During the first phase voting, a cases of violence was reported in polling parts of West Bengal. People turned out in huge number in Tripura, while Bihar being the state with the lowest turnout.
Violence reported in West Bengal
In West Bengal, the polls were held at three reserved seats — Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, which are for SCs and Alipurduars, which is for STs. Total voter turnout in West Bengal was 77.57 per cent till 9 pm.
During the polls, incidents of sporadic violence were witnessed in the state, with both the TMC and the BJP workers clashing with each other in various parts of the Cooch Behar.
Both parties have alleged voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents in the first few hours of polling. Most of the complaints were from Cooch Behar and Alipurduars constituencies.
Tamil Nadu voters brave heat
Voters in Tamil Nadu voters braved above-normal temperatures on Friday as they cast their votes in the first phase of the national polls. Polling in the state was held for all 29 parliamentary seats. Tamil Nadu recorded 65.19 per cent voter turnout in the first phase till 9 pm.
Throughout the day, voting was delayed only by an hour in some polling booths in the state such as the one near Tambaram due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machines.
However, BJP state chief K Annamalai, who is contesting from Coimbatore, alleged that large number of people complaints about their names missing from voter list. He demanded re-election in places where the names of a large number of voters were missing.
“We have a doubt that there was some political interference because the names of a large number of BJP caders were missing from the voters list,”Annamalai said.
Uttar Pradesh witnesses 58.49% polling
In Uttar Pradesh, eight seats, which fall in the Jat and sugarcane belt, went to polls in the first phase. About 58.49 per cent voter turnout was recorded on eight seats till 9 pm.
According to the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app, 63.29 per cent voting was reported in Saharanpur, Moradabad (57.83), Kairana (60.39), Nagina (59.17), Pilibhit (60.23), Bijnor (54.68), Rampur (52.42) and Muzaffarnagar (54.91).
Voters in certain parts of Pilibhit district boycotted the polls to showcase their dissatisfaction with the lack of basic amenities. The inhabitants of Purana village decided not to participate in the voting process due to the non-existence of a bridge in their locality. In the Neuria region, some villagers initially expressed their intent not to vote citing concerns over human-wildlife conflicts. However, after assurances from the local administration, the villagers visited the polling stations to vote.
Bihar sees lowest voter turnout
In Bihar, first phase of Lok Sabha polls were held at Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada and Jamui constituencies, with a provisional voter turnout of 48.50 per cent (till 9 pm), almost five per cent less than that of the 2019 general elections, officials said.
Gaya registered 52 per cent polling, Aurangabad 50 per cent, Jamui 50 per cent and Nawada 41.50 per cent. The total voter turnout in these four Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections was 53.47 per cent. Bihar has registered a lowest voter turnout in phase one.
The prevailing heatwave condition could be a possible reason for the low voter turnout, they said.
Pollings in Northeast
Incidents like firing, intimidation, EVM destruction, and booth capturing were reported in conflict-hit Manipur during the Lok Sabha polls’ first phase, with voter turnout being 69.13%. Both the BJP and the Congress accused each other of unleashing violence and breaching the election Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
Around 2,500 voters crossed fencing on the India-Bangladesh border to cast their votes in Tripura. A substantial number of voters in Tripura for historical reasons, had to stay beyond the barbed wire fencing.
Tripura witnessed around 80.17 per cent voter turnout till 9 pm, highest in the first phase. Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland recorded voter turnout of 74.21%, 54.23%, 56.91% respectively. Arunachal Pradesh witnessed 67.15 polling.
Meanwhile, Assam witnessed 72.10 per cent turnout in the first phase of polling. An incident occurred in Assam’s Lakhimpur constituency when an SUV carrying an electronic voting machine partially sank into a river after water level rose suddenly washing away a mechanised boat that was ferrying the vehicle.
The driver and the polling officer of the vehicle managed to get out before water gushed into the vehicle, an official said. It was on its way to Amarpur area to replace an EVM after a technical glitch was detected.
56 villages in Bastar cast vote
For the first time, people in 56 villages in Bastar in Chhattisgarh cast their vote in polling booths set up in their own villages. Unfortunatley, a 32-year-old jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed on poll duty in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district was killed when a shell of Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) exploded accidentally. Total polling in Chhattisgarh was 63.41 per cent.
Highest turnout in Rajasthan’s Ganganagar
A voter turnout of 56.58 per cent was recorded in 12 parliamentary constituencies of Rajasthan where polling was held in the first phase. The highest voter turnout of 62.93 per cent was recorded in the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat while Jhunjhunu saw the lowest turnout of 47.98 per cent, it said. Jaipur recorded a poll percentage of 61.23. The voting percentage in Bikaner was 52.53, Churu 61.05, Sikar 55.06, Jaipur Rural 54.44, Alwar 55.82, Dausa 49.57, Bharatpur 50.97 and Nagaur 56.89 (till 7 pm).
Over 18 lakh polling officials were deployed and over 16.63 crore voters across 1.87 lakh polling stations cast their vote today.
Phase 2 will see 89 Lok Sabha seats go to the polls across 13 states/UTs. Elections to all 20 seats in Kerala will be held during the second phase on April 26. The Lok Sabha elections of 2024 will be conducted across seven phases, starting on April 19, followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. Vote counting will be done on June 4.
(With input from agencies)