Your complete guide to Lok Sabha elections 2024 phase 2

The greatest festival of democracy in the world, the Lok Sabha elections 2024, commenced on April 19, and is set to go on till June 1. Tomorrow, April 26, will witness the second phase of polling across 89 constituencies in 13 states and union territories.

Which are the states heading to polls tomorrow?

The states which are going to polls in phase 2 are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Rajasthan, Manipur and West Bengal.

Which are the constituencies heading to polls tomorrow (except ones in Karnataka)?

1. Assam 

 Karimganj

Silchar

Mangaldoi

Nawgong

Kaliabor

2. Bihar 

Kishanganj

Katihar

Purnia

Bhagalpur

Banka

3. Chhattisgarh 

Rajnandgaon

Mahasamund

Kanker

4. Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu

5. Kerala

Kasaragod

Kannur

Vadakara

Wayanad

Kozhikode

Malappuram

Ponnani

Palakkad

Alathur

Thrissur

Chalakudy

Ernakulam

Idukki

Kottayam

Alappuzha

Mavelikkara

Pathanamthitta

Kollam

Attingal

Thiruvananthapuram

Madhya Pradesh

Tikamgarh

Damoh

Khajuraho

Satna

Rewa

Hoshangabad

Maharashtra

Buldhana

Akola

Amravati

Wardha

Yavatmal-Washim

Hingoli

Nanded

Parbhani

Manipur

Outer Manipur

Rajasthan

Tonk-Sawai Madhopur

Ajmer

Pali

Jodhpur

Barmer

Jalore

Udaipur

Banswara

Chittorgarh

Rajsamand

Bhilwara

Kota

Jhalawar-Baran

Tripura

Tripura East

Uttar Pradesh

Amroha

Meerut

Baghpat

Ghaziabad

Gautam Budh Nagar

Aligarh

Mathura

Bulandshahr

West Bengal

Darjeeling

Raiganj

Balurghat

Which are the Karnataka constituencies going to poll tomorrow?

Udupi Chikamagalur

Hassan

Dakshina Kannada

Chitradurga

Tumkur

Mandya

Mysore

Chamarajanagar

Bangalore Rural

Bangalore North

Bangalore Central

Bangalore South

Chikballapur

Kolar

Who are the star candidates whose fate will be decided in the second phase?

A number of star candidates will have their fates on line during the second phase of the LS polls. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Hema Malini, and LS Speaker Om Birla are among them.

Former Union Minister Tharoor is hoping to retain the Thiruvananthapuram seat for the fourth time. He is pitted against Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the BJP and CPI's Pannyan Raveendran.

Malini, who has represented the Mathura constituency since 2014, is contesting against Congress' Mukesh Dhangar while Om Birla, a two-time MP from Kota, is facing Prahlad Gunjal from the Congress party.

In Karnataka, JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy will see his fate play out in ballot boxes during phase 2, along with Udpupi Chikamagaluru candidates—Kota Srinivas Poojary of the BJP and Congress's K Jayaprakash Hegde.

In Bangalore South, Tejasvi Surya, the sitting MP, and national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), will face Congress' Sowmya Reddy.

Replacing three-time MP Rajendra Agarwal, who has been holding the Meerut seat since 2004, Arun Govil, famous for portraying Lord Ram's character in Ramayan TV series, is making his electoral debut against BSP's Devvrat Kumar Tyagi and SP's Sunita Verma.

Former chief minister of Chhattisgarh and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel is contesting from Rajnandgaon, a stronghold of the BJP for over 30 years.

Baghel is pitted against BJP's Santosh Pandey, who won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections succeeding Abhishek Singh, the son of former Chief Minister Raman Singh, also from the BJP.

The contest for the Alappuzha seat in Kerala has turned into a prestige battle for the Congress with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal’s return to the Lok Sabha poll fray after 2014 as the party looks to wrest the only seat it lost to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in its landslide 19-1 victory in Kerala in the 2019 polls.

Venugopal has not lost any major election in his career. He won the Alappuzha Assembly seat thrice in a row in 1996, 2001, and 2006 and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Alappuzha in 2009 and 2014.

Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi is also in the fray from Thrissur against K Muraleedharan of Congress and VS Sunil Kumar of CPI(M).

What will be closed in Bengaluru tomorrow?

As is the norm during an election day, schools, colleges, and other educational institutions, as well as relevant non-essential government services in Bengaluru will be shut down on election day.

Additionally, corporate offices will provide their employees with at least a leave to allow them to vote, as it is mandatory to do so according to the law.

Karnataka HC also declared a general holiday to the High Court Benches on April 26 and May 7, on account of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Banks will be shut too.

The district magistrate's office also released an order banning the production, sale, distribution, transportation, storage etc. of liquor from 5:00 PM on 24 April to 12:00 midnight on 26 April. Thus, any liquor stores will remain closed.

To avoid any incidents during the polling day, a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC will be in place from 6 pm on April 24 to the midnight of April 26 in the Bengaluru city commissionerate limits.

What will remain open in Bengaluru tomorrow?

Essential services, such as BMTC, BMRCL, hospitals, etc. will remain in operation.

Commercial establishments will also remain open, although they will likely start operations late to allow their eligible employees to vote early in the day.

As Bengaluru gears up for the elections on 26 April, it's crucial for citizens to prioritize their civic duty before embarking on their long weekend plans that the election holiday will provide.

Security measures for phase 2 of Lok Sabha elections

NDTV reports that security has been tightened for phase 2 of the LS polls near the Indo-Bangladesh border. The Election Commission is also reportedly taking measures to protect voters from the summer heat.

With DH Web Desk, PTI inputs