India Election 2024 Phase 2 Voting Highlights: In the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, covering 88 seats across 13 states, nearly 61 percent voter turnout was reported. Polling for the second stage of the seven-phase elections started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm, with several states experiencing intense heat conditions. The first phase of polling took place on April 19, covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories. The Election Commission (EC) said that polling remained largely peaceful. The initial figure at 7 pm indicated a voter turnout of 60.96 percent, which is expected to increase as reports from all polling stations are compiled.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Modi, is aiming for a stronger majority for a third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc, INDIA, hopes for a resurgence after setbacks in the 2014 and 2019 elections. According to Election Commission data, Tripura recorded the highest voter turnout at 78.53 percent, followed by Manipur at 77.18 percent. In Uttar Pradesh, the turnout was 53.71 percent, and in Maharashtra, it stood at 53.84 percent.
Key contenders in this phase were leader Shashi Tharoor, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil. Notable figures such as Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh (Congress) and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) are also in the fray. Meanwhile, BJP stalwarts Hema Malini, Om Birla, and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat are seeking re-election to continue their winning streaks. Other notable contests include Tejasvi Surya (BJP) defending his Bangalore South seat against Congress’s Sowmya Reddy, and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel (Congress) contesting from Rajnandgaon, a BJP stronghold for over three decades.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Second Phase Voting Live Updates: Polling was held across 88 parliamentary constituencies in 13 States/UTs, along with one part PC (Outer Manipur).
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reached the BES polling booth in Bengaluru to cast her vote in the Lok Sabha elections. Karnataka is voting on 14 seats today in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
#WATCH | Karnataka: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with her maternal uncle, arrives at BES polling booth in Bengaluru to cast her vote in the Lok Sabha elections.
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Karnataka is voting on 14 seats today in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.#LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/NKzQg9JgXE
Among the prominent contestants are Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad) and Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram), BJP’s Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru South), Hema Malini (Mathura), Arun Govil (Meerut), Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh (Bengaluru Rural) and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy (Mandya).
#LokSabhaElections2024 | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan arrives to cast his vote at polling station number 161 in Kannur
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Voting is underway in all 20 seats in Kerala. pic.twitter.com/JeodwUDv1T
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 56 of the 89 seats that are polling in phase 2 while the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) bagged 24 seats. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
With phase 2 on Friday, polling will conclude in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura. In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all 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).
There are a total of 1,210 candidates in the fray today. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded the most candidates in this phase at 74, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at 69 and the Congress at 68. Karnataka, with 14 seats going to polls, has the most candidates at 247, followed by Maharashtra (8 seats) at 204 and Kerala (all its 20 seats) at 189.
Kerala is voting to elect all 20 members of Parliament in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections today. The counting of the votes will be done on June 4. Among the key candidates in the fray in the south Indian state are Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
#WATCH | Voting begins in Kerala's Ernakulam. The state is voting to elect 20 members of Parliament in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections today pic.twitter.com/wov7G3i4jO
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
#WATCH | A 94-year-old woman casts her vote in Ukhrul Outer Manipur as polling begins on one parliamentary seat
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Voting for 13 Assembly segments under Outer Manipur seat is being held in the second phase today. The state has a total of two seats.#LokSabhaElections2024📷 pic.twitter.com/7gekjv4xPU
The polling has begun across 89 seats in 13 states and Union territories and will continue till 5 pm amid tight security.
In the Phase 2 elections, in Kerala alone, over 2.77 crore people are eligible to vote, with more than five lakh being first-time voters. Rahul Gandhi, the incumbent MP from Wayanad, faces challenges from CPI’s Annie Raja and BJP’s K Surendran. Tharoor, aiming for his fourth win in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, competes against Chandrasekhar (BJP) and CPI’s Pannyan Raveendran. Similarly, Hema Malini faces Congress’s Mukesh Dhangar in Mathura, while Om Birla squares off against Prahlad Gunjal of the Congress in Kota. Union Minister Shekhawat seeks his third victory from Jodhpur, opposing Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda.