The Election Commission said that a total of 60.03 percent voting was recorded till 7 pm in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday. A spokesperson said the figure was provisional.
Officially, polling ended at 6 pm, but voters who were still in the queue by that time were allowed to exercise their franchise.
Voting took place in 102 constituencies across 21 states and union territories amid sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal, while a CRPF jawan was killed in an accidental blast of a grenade launcher shell in Chhattisgarh.
An Election Commission spokesperson said that voting was conducted “smoothly and peacefully”.
Voting for the first and biggest phase of the seven-phase election began at 7 am in all constituencies, while it ended at 6 pm in most seats.
Assembly elections are also being held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Modi is seeking a strong majority for the third consecutive time, constituents of the opposition Indian faction are hoping for a comeback after facing defeats in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
The voters included first-time voters, several newly married couples who came dressed in their traditional attire, physically challenged people and some elderly people who came on stretchers and wheelchairs.
Minor EVM glitches were reported at some booths in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Assam.
Election officials said polling was 77.57 per cent in West Bengal, 70.77 per cent in Assam and 69.91 per cent in Meghalaya till 5 pm, while polling in six districts of eastern Nagaland came after an apex body of tribal organizations called for an indefinite strike to mount pressure. Voters remained indoors. demand for separate state
Voting was affected due to violence in Cooch Behar seat in West Bengal. TMC and BJP workers clashed with each other and filed 80 and 39 complaints respectively related to election violence, voter intimidation and attacks on election agents, sources in both parties said.
Conflict-torn Manipur recorded an impressive turnout of around 67.46 per cent till 5 pm.
A dispute broke out between local people and unidentified persons in Thongju assembly constituency under Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
In Chhattisgarh, 63.41 per cent voters cast their votes in Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, where a CRPF jawan was martyred when a grenade accidentally exploded, while in another incident an officer was injured in an IED blast.
In Tamil Nadu, where voting took place in 39 constituencies, a voting percentage of over 63.20 was recorded.
Voting was delayed by an hour at some polling stations in the state, such as polling stations near Tambaram, due to technical glitches in electronic voting machines.
More than 60 percent of the total 8,92,694 voters in Arunachal Pradesh exercised their franchise. Although turnout was moderate in the morning due to inclement weather, turnout picked up as weather conditions improved.
Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sen said voting was delayed due to technical glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs) at some polling stations in the state, which were later replaced.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chukhu Apa said a clash broke out between supporters of two candidates near a polling booth in Bameng constituency of East Kameng district, adding that the situation has been brought under control and voting is underway.
Incidents of damage to EVMs were also reported from three polling stations in East Kameng, Kurung Kumey and Upper Subansiri districts, the police officer said.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded 56.87 percent voting. Officials said there were some minor glitches in the EVMs but these were rectified immediately.
For the first time in the Union Territory, seven members of the Shompen tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group from the Great Nicobar Islands, voted for the sole Lok Sabha seat.
An official said that in Assam too, EVM malfunction has been reported at three polling stations in Bihpuria in Lakhimpur, one each in Hojai, Kaliabor and Bokakhat and one in Naharkatiya in Dibrugarh.
“Most of the irregularities were noticed during the mock poll, which started 90 minutes before the actual polling began. Those irregularities were immediately rectified. Voting at those booths started a little late and is now smooth,” an official said. It is going smoothly.”
A vehicle carrying EVMs was partially submerged in the river after the water level suddenly rose, due to which a mechanized boat carrying an SUV was also washed away in the river. The driver and polling officer managed to get out before water entered the vehicle.
Till 5 pm, about 46.32 percent of the 75 lakh voters in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar exercised their franchise.
Despite incessant rain, 65.08 per cent voters exercised their choice in the first six hours of polling in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur parliamentary constituency.
Till 5 pm in Rajasthan, 50.27 percent voting took place, while in Uttarakhand, 53.56 percent voting took place.
54.85 percent voting took place till 5 pm in Maharashtra, while 63.50 percent voting took place in six Lok Sabha seats of Madhya Pradesh.
Voting was 57.54 percent in Uttar Pradesh, 56.68 percent in Mizoram, 50.41 percent in Nagaland, 72.8 percent in Puducherry and 67.95 percent in Sikkim.
More than 16.63 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase. There are 35.67 lakh first-time voters in the first phase, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Counting of votes in the elections to be held on June 1 will be done on June 4.
Prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase include Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Sarbananda Sonowal, Congress' Gaurav Gogoi and DMK's Kanimozhi.
Voting is taking place on all the seats of 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).
Apart from this, voting is going on in 12 seats of Rajasthan, eight of Uttar Pradesh, six of Madhya Pradesh, five each of Assam and Maharashtra, four of Bihar, three of West Bengal, two of Manipur and one seat each of Tripura and Jammu. . And Kashmir and Chhattisgarh.
Along with this, assembly elections are also being held in Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats).
The Election Commission has deployed more than 18 lakh polling personnel at 1.87 lakh polling stations.
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