India elections 2019: Millions cast their vote in second round of polling

Top Stories

India elections 2019: Millions cast their vote in second round of polling
Photo: Anu Cinubal/Khaleej Times

New Delhi - The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19.

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Fri 19 Apr 2019, 6:30 AM

Last updated: Fri 19 Apr 2019, 5:25 PM

Voting began on Thursday across 95 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 12 states and Union Territories as the second phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise kicked off.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and would conclude on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Latest updates:

3:45pm 
Millions voted across 95 Lok Sabha seats in 12 states and Puducherry on Thursday in the second phase of the staggered battle for a new Parliament, marred by stray violence in West Bengal and muted polling in Srinagar.
CPI-M MP and candidate Mohd Salim was attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress activists in Raiganj constituency where he is seeking re-election when he went to a polling booth to check reports of vote rigging, officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also accused the Trinamool Congress of unleashing violence on its opponents, a charge denied by the ruling party in West Bengal. A total of 15.7 crore electorate can pick 95 Lok Sabha members out of 1,606 contestants on Thursday.
3:00pm
 
1:50pm
Popular stars cast vote in Tamil Nadu: Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith and Suriya among others cast their vote on Thursday.
Other members of the Tamil film fraternity who also voted included actors Sivakarthikeyan, Sirish, Karthi, Jyothika, Dhanush, Shruti Haasan, GV Prakash Kumar, Arun Vijay and Trisha.
Superstar Rajinikanth was one of the earliest stars to cast his vote. Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam party chief Kamal Haasan was accompanied by his daughter Shruti Hassan to vote. Actor Ajith Kumar voted along with his wife Shalini.
Vijay chose to go alone to vote, and videos of the star standing in a long queue near a polling booth here went viral on social media. Suriya was accompanied by his wife Jyothika, as well as his brother Karthi and his wife Ranjani. Dressed in a white shirt and dhoti, Dhanush went alone to vote.
1:40pm
BJP candidate put under house arrest: BJP candidate from Bulandshahr, Bhola Singh, was placed under house arrest after a video showing him campaigning and seeking votes inside a polling station went viral on the social media.
In the video clip, Bhola Singh as seen walking into the Sharma Inter College polling station and seeking blessings of voters, who had lined up outside the booth. When a police personnel tried to stop the BJP candidate, he claimed that he had entered the booth with the permission of District Magistrate and Returning Officer Abhay Singh.
The officer, however, said that he had permitted the BJP candidate to visit the booths but not seek votes or campaign. A notice has now been issued to BJP candidate and he will be kept under house arrest till the polling gets over, said the District Magistrate.
1:29pm
Voting underway in Kanyakumari constituency, where Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan is contesting.
12: 29pm
Manipur Governor, CM jump queue to vote: Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh jumped the queues to vote in the election to the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
Voters pointed out that many other politicians had stood patiently in queues along with the general people.
Heptulla's name is registered in the Sagolband Assembly constituency under which the Raj Bhavan falls.
The Chief Minister and his wife voted in a polling booth under the Heingang Assembly constituency.
12: 23pm
33% polling recorded in Odisha: Bhubaneswar, April 18 (IANS) Nearly 33 per cent voting was recorded for the five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly constituencies in Odisha till 1pm on Thursday, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar.
"The second phase voting is underway smoothly and peacefully," he said and added that adequate security personnel had been deployed in Maoist-affected areas.
Elections are being held for Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal and Aska Lok Sabha seats and 35 Assembly seats under them.
12: 18pm
Voting zooms in Maharashtra: After a dull start, voting suddenly picked up to more than triple - from around 7 per cent to over 22 per cent by 11 a.m., for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, officials said. The highest turnout was in Parbhani (26.17 per cent) and the lowest 16.50 per cent was in Solapur.
Buldhana recorded 20.49 per cent polling, Akola 21.03, Amravati 20.06, Hingoli 24.08, Nanded 24.40, Beed 18.94, Osmanabad 20.09 and Latur 23.14 per cent.

The improved voting trend was described as encouraging by candidates and political activists.

There were long queues of voters, including many women and first timer voters, at many polling stations after the initial lax response.
11: 31am
A CPM candidate from Raiganj Mohammad Salim's vehicle attacked in Islampur, according to ANI.
11: 21am
Nearly 31% polling recorded in TN: Nearly 31 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in Tamil Nadu's 38 Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly constituencies and polling is continuing at a brisk rate, an Election Commission (EC) official said.
?In the first three hours till 11am, 30.62 per cent voting was recorded, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said.  He said voters who do not have the booth slips can cast their ballots by showing any one of the permitted identity papers.
?Sahoo said there were reports of technical glitches involving EVMs in some centres, but the issues were sorted out.
11:10am
Villagers boycott election to protest pollution: Around 500 voters in Nagaraja Kandigai village in the Tiruvallur Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu boycotted the election in protest against the functioning of a polluting sponge iron factory in their locality, said an official.
The villagers are up against the Chennai Ferrous Industries Ltd. According to officials, no vote had been cast in the polling booth set up for the people of Nagaraja Kandigai village.
 10:59am
Violence mars polling at Raiganj, Chopra: Violence marred the second phase of elections here on Thursday as BJP's Raiganj Parliamentary constituency candidate Debasree Chaudhuri alleged that TMC workers tried to capture a polling booth in the constituency.
10:35am
Polling official dies of heart attack in Chhattisgarh: A polling official died after suffering a heart attack while on election duty in Chhattisgarh's Kanker on Thursday.
The deceased was deployed at polling booth number 186 in Kanker. Today, the polling is underway in three Lok Sabha constituencies (Kanker, Rajnandgaon, and Mahasamund) in the state.
10:20am
Nearly 17% polling recorded in Bengal: Nearly 17 per cent of the electorate cast their votes amid stray incidents of violence in the three northern West Bengal constituencies in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
In the first two hours till 9 am, the overall polling percentage was 16.78, with Raiganj recording 17.45, Jalpaiguri 16.84 and Darjeeling 16.14 per cent turnout, an Election Commission (EC) official said in Kolkata.
10:15am

Brisk voting recorded in Manipur: Brisk voting was recorded in the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat in Manipur. Fifty companies of the central forces are assisting the state police and paramilitary forces.
Fifty-six polling stations have been classified as critical, an official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence. There are 9.28 lakh eligible voters and 11 candidates in this phase.
10:00am
VIPs, candidates, celebs among early voters in Karnataka

VIPs, including political leaders, celebrities and candidates were among the early voters who exercised their franchise in 14 Lok Sabha seats across central and southern Karnataka.

"Among the early voters were 86-year-old Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, his wife Chennamma, his two sons -- Chief Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy and PWD Minister H.D. Revanna, their wives Anitha and Bhavani, and his grandsons Prajwal and Nikhil," a poll official said.

Among the celebrities were Kannada superstar Sudheep, Tara, Shivaraj Kumar, Puneeth, Raghavendra, Darshan and Yash.

Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy and her son Rohan Murthy also voted at Jayanagar in the Bangalore South seat.
9:50am
95-year-old dies outside polling booth: A 95-year-old man died here on Thursday while waiting in a queue to vote in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha. The man was waiting for his turn at Kansamari booth in the Aska Lok Sabha seat when he suddenly collapsed, officials said.
9:45am
Dull voting in Maharashtra: Around seven per cent of the electorate had voted for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies till 9 a.m., officials said.
The highest turnout was in Parbhani (9.30 per cent) and the lowest (6.40 per cent) was in Amravati. The voting percentage, described as 'dull' by political activists, was attributed mainly to scorching temperatures in many constituencies.
9:30am
Voting is brisk in Udhampur, muted in Srinagar : People voted in large numbers in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur Lok Sabha seat but polling was muted in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. A healthy voter turnout was reported in Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts of Udhampur where over 12 per cent voters exercised franchise during the first three hours until 10am.
The main contest in Udhampur is between Jitendra Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress. Eight other candidates are also in the fray.
In Srinagar, only 0.9 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first three hours. Most polling stations in the eight voting segments of Srinagar city wore a deserted look although at some places voters came out in ones and twos to exercise their democratic right.
Over 1,000 people voted in Chrar-e-Sharief while over 1,200 voted in Khansahib segment in Badgam district.
9:25am
Glitches in EVMs delay polling in Odisha: Voting in some polling booths in Odisha got delayed following technical glitches in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). In Sundergarh, technical glitches were reported in the EVMs in several booths in Talsara Assembly constituency while polling was delayed in six booths in Bonai Assembly constituency, said informed sources.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram was in a queue at a booth in Kendudihi due to delayed polling. In Bolangir, voting was delayed in several booths due to glitches in EVM. Voters faced similar problems in Kandhamal as well.

9:15am
Newly-wed bride votes in Aligarh: Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), April 18 (IANS) A newly-wed bride in Aligarh city in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday voted in the Lok Sabha election before leaving for her husband's house.
Anshu Verma, a resident of Mohalla Kanoon Goyan, got married on Wednesday night and decided to exercise her democratic right before leaving the city on Thursday morning.



More news from