Moderate to brisk polling has been reported in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday. Eighty-eight Parliamentary Constituencies spread over 12 States and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir went to poll in this phase. These include, twenty seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, six in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
The polling for the Betul (ST) Parliamentary Constituency of Madhya Pradesh which was scheduled in this phase has been postponed to the third phase due to the demise of the BSP candidate.
Voting started in most of the constituencies at 7 this morning and concluded at 6 in the evening. Till 5 pm an average of 64 per cent voting was reported.
Akashvani correspondents from different parts of the country reported that long queues of voters were witnessed at various polling booths. Special enthusiasm was seen among youth and women voters.
A total of 1,202 candidates along with four candidates from the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency were in the fray in this phase.
In Chhattisgarh, peaceful polling took place in three constituencies – Kanker, Mahasamund, and Rajnandgaon. According to the data received so far, around 73 per cent of voting has been recorded.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling on 8 seats of second phase of general elections competed peacefully. More than 52 percent polling was recorded at these seats. Highest 61.89 percent polling recorded in Amroha while Mathura has the lowest turn out of 46.96 percent.
In Karnataka, election in the 14 constituencies concluded without any untoward incident. The state registered an overall polling percentage of 64.55 percent as of 5.00 pm. In a tragic incident the 58-year-old Yashodamma who was working as the Assistant Presiding Officer at Harapanahalli Gollarahatti polling station in Challakere taluk in Chitradurga today died while being taken to the hospital.
In Assam, the second phase voting for the five parliamentary constituencies’ passes off peacefully with a voter turnout around 70.68 percent till the time of filing of this report.
In Kerala the polling to all the 20 constituencies was held today in single phase. State had recorded a polling of over 70 percent as per official sources till 7 this evening.
Voting for Lok Sabha elections have now been completed in the States of Kerala, Rajasthan, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).
