28 Apr. 24: In the second phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2024, held on April 26, a total of 88 parliamentary constituencies across 13 states and Union Territories (UTs) went to the polls, eliciting significant participation from voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens, especially young and female voters, to exercise their franchise, emphasizing the importance of high voter turnout in fortifying democracy.
Voting commenced at 7 am and continued until 5 pm, with Tripura leading the voter turnout charts at 77.53%, while Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest turnout at 52.74%. Notable turnouts were also seen in Manipur (76.06%), West Bengal (71.84%), Chhattisgarh (72.13%), and Assam (70.66%).
A total of 15.88 crore voters, comprising 8.08 crore men, 7.8 crore women, and 5,929 third-gender electors, were eligible to cast their votes in this phase. Additionally, 3.28 crore young voters aged between 20-29 years, including 34.8 lakh first-time voters, were registered to participate in the electoral process.
The voting phase encompassed 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, seven in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, three each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, and Tripura.
A total of 1,210 candidates, including prominent figures like Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and actor-turned-politicians Hema Malini and Arun Govil contested in Phase 2. Notably, over 16 lakh polling officials were deployed across 1.67 lakh polling stations, with webcasting conducted in more than 50% of the polling stations and micro-observers stationed in all polling stations.
The Lok Sabha Election 2024, spanning seven phases, will culminate with the final phase on June 1. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) aims to secure a record third term under PM Narendra Modi, with a target of winning 400 seats, while opposition parties, led by the Congress under the banner of the INDIA bloc, present a formidable challenge.
The counting of votes for all seven phases of the Lok Sabha Elections is slated for June 4, marking the culmination of one of the largest democratic exercises globally.
