Lok Sabha polls 2024: Nearly 61% turnout in phase 2

New Delhi: At least 61% of 15.88 crore voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday that sealed the fate of 1,202 candidates in 88 seats in 13 states, amid indications that oppressive weather and waning voter interest is impacting the turnout.

With the end of two phases, the election process has been completed in 14 states and union territories. The polling process was largely peaceful though there were skirmishes between rival party workers, complaints about malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and missing names in voters' list.

The EC pegged the turnout at 60.96% at 7 PM, which could increase at the final count, as against 69.04% recorded in the same phase in 2019 elections. In the first phase held on April 11, the EC's initial estimate showed 62.37% though it has not publicised the final aggregate. In 2019, the first phase saw 69.5% voting.

Polling was held in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.

The prominent candidates included Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad), Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram), Om Birla (Kota) and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur).

After the first phase performance, the EC had held a meeting to chalk out plans to get more people out to vote by extending polling time in some booths and offering amenities to fight heat. Leaders and experts say that there is voter fatigue, especially because there is no 'wave' in this election and it could be the reason for the lower turnout along with heat.

At 9:30 PM, the EC's Voter Turnout App, which does not provide an aggregate for all the seats that went to polls, showed that Tripura -- whose Tripura East seat went to polls -- logged the highest voting percentage at 78.97% while Maharashtra recorded the lowest at 54.58%. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh also recorded less than 60% turnout. 

Among the constituencies, Tripura East topped the list followed by Barmer (Rajasthan) 73.68% and  Balurghat (West Bengal) 72.30%. Among the seats with lowest turnout were Bhagalpur (Bihar) 49.43% and Rewa (MP) 49.44%.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on 'X' claiming that the phase-2 voting "has been too good". He added, "The unparalleled support for NDA is going to disappoint the Opposition even more. Voters want NDA’s good governance. Youth and women voters are powering the strong NDA support."

In phase 2, voters from 46 villages in Bastar and Kanker in Chhattisgarh cast their vote in a polling booth set up in their own village for the first time in a Lok Sabha Election. 

In Maharashtra's Nanded seat, a 26-year-old man damaged an EVM by hitting it with an iron object when he came to cast his vote. The accused told police he wanted a pro-farmer and pro-labourer government in power. EVMs were also destroyed at a polling station in Indiganatha village in Karnataka's Chamarajanagara during a clash between two groups of people over whether to vote or not in the Lok Sabha elections.

Kerala and West Bengal witnessed allegations of bogus voting in some booths while voters in some villages of Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, Rajasthan's Banswara and Maharashtra's Parbhani boycotted polls over separate issues. A couple of people in Kerala died soon after casting their votes.

STATES

Assam: 71.04%

Bihar: 55.08%

Chhattisgarh: 73.29%

Jammu and Kashmir: 71.91%

Kerala: 65.51%

Madhya Pradesh: 57.62%

Maharashtra: 54.58%

Manipur: 77.18%

Rajasthan: 64.07%

Tripura: 78.97%

Uttar Pradesh: 54.83%

West Bengal: 71.84%

PROMINENT CONSTITUENCIES

Tripura East 78.97%

Barmer: 73.68%

Balurghat: 72.30%

Jammu: 71.91%

Wayanad: 69.51%

LOWEST POLLING %

Bhagalpur (Bihar): 49.43%

Rewa (MP): 49.44%

Ghaziabad (UP): 49.65%

Mathura: 49.29%

(SOURCE: EC's Voter Turnout App at 9:30 PM)