India votes in Lok Sabha polls, 102 seats, big test in Tamil Nadu

TAMILNADU,APR 19 : Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections is currently underway in 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories. Several prominent leaders and personalities have cast their votes, including Congress veteran P Chidambaram, his son and Sivaganga pick Karti P Chidambaram, legendary actor Rajinikanth, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, among others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to urge citizens to vote 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,” PM Modi tweeted.

The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term under PM Modi, while the Opposition is hoping to turn the tables under the INDIA alliance. All eyes are on Tamil Nadu, where voting is underway in all 39 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP is hoping for a better turnout in the southern state where PM Modi has campaigned extensively.

Here is all you need to know:

The turnout in Tamil Nadu till 9 am has been recorded at 8.21%, in Uttarakhand at 10.41%, in Arunachal Pradesh at 4.95%, Meghalaya at 12.96%, Rajasthan at 10.67%, and West Bengal at 15.9%, among others.

Congress veteran P Chidambaram cast his vote from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, and exuded confidence in the INDIA bloc sweeping all 39 seats in the southern state. “This is the first phase of elections, there are seven phases…Today all of Tamil Nadu votes and I am absolutely confident that we will win all seats,” he told reporters.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also urged citizens to vote in “large numbers”, adding that it is “not only meant to determine the fate of a Lok Sabha or a candidate but also to shape a bright future for India”.

“…My appeal is to choose a strong and decisive leadership that has shown the determination to free the country from corruption, nepotism, and appeasement while fulfilling its promises,” he tweeted.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved’s Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna cast their votes at a polling booth in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar. CP PLUS 3 MP Full HD Smart Wi-fi CCTV Camera | 360° Pan & Tilt | View & Talk | Motion Alert | Night Vision | SD Card (Up to 128 GB) | Alexa & OK Google | 2-Way Talk | IR Distance 10Mtr | CP-E35A

In the first phase, polling is being held on all seats in 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 is 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 are being held in 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh and 32 in Sikkim.

In the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, over 16.63 crore people are eligible to cast their vote. This includes 35.67 lakh first-time voters, 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20–29, and 11,371 from the third gender.

Seven Union Ministers are in the race in the first phase — Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan and Nisith Pramanik.

Besides them, BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, DMK’s Kanimozhi and Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi are also in the fray.

Of the 102 seats going to polls on Friday, the NDA had won 41 seats in the 2019 elections while the Congress-led UPA bloc emerged victorious in 45 constituencies. This time, however, six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.

Overall, the Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations on the 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories. The seven-phase elections will conclude on June 4, when the results will be announced.

-PTI