Voting is underway at 88 constituencies in the second phase of India’s 18th Lok Sabha elections across 13 states and union territories. Over 1,200 candidates, including four from Outer Manipur, are contesting these polls.
As of 3 pm, a 54.67 percent voter turnout has been recorded across the 13 states and union territories. Notable among the states were Manipur and Tripura which reported 68.48 percent and 68.92 percent turnouts, respectively, while Maharashtra recorded the lowest at over 43.01 percent.
The constituencies participating in this phase include all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
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Several prominent figures are contesting in this phase of the Lok Sabha elections, including Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, actors Hema Malini and Arun Govil, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh, and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
In the previous 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) secured victory in 56 of these 89 seats, while the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) won 24. Six of these seats have been redrawn due to the delimitation exercise.
The Lok Sabha elections are being conducted over seven phases, with the first phase held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories, witnessing a voter turnout of approximately 65.5 percent.
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