Lok Sabha Election 2024: Nearly 50% voter turnout till 3 pm across states

The first phase of polling for the 18th Lok Sabha elections began in 21 states and Union territories on Friday. Nearly 40% voter turnout was recorded till 1pm across the states, as reported by NDTV.

Seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry voted today.

According to Election Commission of India, more than 16.63 crore voters, which include over approximately 8.4 crore male voters, 8.23 crore female voters, and 11,371 third-gender electors were eligible to cast their vote at nearly 2 lakh polling stations.

Tamil Nadu state Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said, "Till 3PM, the voting percentage for the entire state is 51.41%. The highest percentage of voting has been noted in Dharmapuri at 57.86%. Namakkal comes second with 57.67% voting... Minimum voting has been reported in the three constituencies of Chennai. Chennai Central is at 41.47%, Chennai South is at 42.10%, Chennai North is at 44.84%. Voting is going on smoothly in all the places,” reported Economic Times.

Imphal polling officer K Nimola Devi said, “Our polling has concluded, as soon as it was 4 pm we closed the gates...We called the agents and then in front of them we sealed all the data and machines...After all this is completed we will submit it to the DC office...”

According to news agency ANI, Tripura recorded 68.35% voter turnout till 3pm, the highest amongst the State/UTs voting in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls today.

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live: 49.9% Voter Turnout Till 3 PM

Credit :NDTV 

Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Sarbananda Sonowal are contesting in the first phase. Congress's Gaurav Gogoi, DMK's Kanimozhi and BJP's Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai are also contesting the polls today.

The general elections will elect 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha which will be held in seven phases. The subsequent phases of the general elections are scheduled for April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1, respectively. The results will be announced on June 4.