THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, April 19: Voting has commenced at 7 a.m. amidst tight security arrangements for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories.
The voting will continue until 6 p.m., although the closing times may vary in some states.
A total of 1,625 candidates are trying their luck on these 102 seats.
Alongside the Lok Sabha elections, voting is also underway today for 92 legislative assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Over 16.63 crore voters to cast ballots in first phase
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, more than 16.63 crore voters will exercise their franchise. These include 8.4 crore men and 8.23 crore women and 11,371 third gender voters.
At the same time, 35.67 lakh voters will vote for the first time. The number of voters between the ages of 20 and 29 is 3.51 crore. A total of 1.87 lakh polling stations have been set up across the country.
Over 18 lakh polling personnel deployed
More than 18 lakh polling personnel have been deployed at these polling stations. 41 helicopters, 84 special trains and about one lakh vehicles have been deployed to transport polling and security personnel.
‘Micro’ observers have been deployed at all polling stations. Also, webcasting (broadcasting on the Internet) will be done at more than 50 percent of the polling stations.
Apart from this, 361 observers (127 general, 67 police and 167 expenditure observers) are present in the constituencies. Special observers have also been appointed in some states.
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Voting underway in following states in first phase
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting is being held for various seats in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Andaman Nicobar, Assam, Nagaland, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir.
Voting 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).
Voting is going on for 12 seats in Rajasthan, 8 in Uttar Pradesh, 6 in Madhya Pradesh, 5 in Assam, 5 in Maharashtra, 4 in Bihar, 3 in West Bengal, 2 in Manipur, 1 in Tripura, 1 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1 in Chhattisgarh.
Voting is also being held for 60 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and 32 seats in Sikkim.
These prominent leaders are in electoral fray in first phase
Prominent leaders contesting in the first phase include Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh (West), Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner, Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh in Assam, Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar, Jitendra Singh from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and Bhupendra Yadav from Alwar in Rajasthan.
Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath is contesting again from Chhindwara.
Voting underway in Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui and Nawada
In the first phase, voting is being held in four seats of Bihar – Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui and Nawada. A total of 38 candidates are in the fray for these four seats.
5,000 polling stations have been set up to conduct peaceful, fair and smooth polling in these seats.
Most of these centres have been marked as sensitive because these districts have a long history of Naxalite violence.
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