National Desk, 26th April: The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections revealed a notable contrast in voter participation levels across various states and union territories. By 11 am, Maharashtra reported the lowest polling percentage at 18.83 percent, while Tripura led with the highest turnout at 36.42 percent.
States and union territories actively engaged in the voting process included Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Manipur, and Jammu and Kashmir.
This phase witnessed key contests featuring prominent candidates like Rahul Gandhi, Hema Malini, and Shashi Tharoor, vying for victory.
A total of 141 seats were in contention, with all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, and 8 each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, 6 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 each in Assam and Bihar, and 3 each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal were being contested. Manipur, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir had 1 seat each in the fray.
Initially, 89 constituencies were scheduled for polling. However, the Election Commission canceled voting in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul constituency following the unfortunate demise of a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate.
Polling commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. As of 11 am, voter turnout across states and union territories stood as follows:
- Assam: 27.43 percent
- Bihar: 21.68 percent
- Chhattisgarh: 35.47 percent
- Jammu and Kashmir: 26.61 percent
- Karnataka: 22.34 percent
- Kerala: 25.61 percent
- Madhya Pradesh: 28.15 percent
- Maharashtra: 18.83 percent
- Manipur: 33.22 percent
- Rajasthan: 26.84 percent
- Tripura: 36.42 percent
- Uttar Pradesh: 24.31 percent
- West Bengal: 31.25 percent
The Election Commission deployed over 16 lakh polling officials across 1.67 lakh polling stations to facilitate voting for over 15.88 crore eligible voters, including 34.8 lakh first-time voters and 3.28 crore young voters aged between 20-29 years.
Read More: Mixed Voter Turnout Reported in Assam Lok Sabha Elections