Proxy Voting By Miscreants In Manipur, VVPAT Machine Damaged

Vidisha: Former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Vidisha files his nomination.

Ratnagiri, Maharashtra: On the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Goa CM Pramod Sawant says, “Today, I came here for nominations. Mahayuti alliance leaders were present here. The nominations have been filed with great enthusiasm. I believe, Narayan Rane (Union Minister and BJP candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat) will register a great win in the elections…”

Madhya Pradesh: BJP candidate from Vidisha Shivraj Singh Chouhan files nomination for Lok Sabha elections. The elections will be conducted in Madhya Pradesh on April 26, May 7 and 13.

Manipur: Polling has been stopped in a total of 5 booth, 2 in East Imphal and 3 in West Imphal after a ruckus broke out when people alleged irregularities: Polling officer

Srinagar, J&K: National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah says, “After August 2019, this is the first time that the Lok Sabha elections are taking place here. Then, the BJP launched their candidates on all seats in Kashmir. Now, the Home Miniter is saying that first, they will win people’s hearts and then fight the elections… This means that they could not win hearts…”

Voting has been suspended at five booths in Manipur, with two located in East Imphal and three in West Imphal. (ANI Input)

Google on Friday released a new Doodle dedicated to the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The voting for Phase 1 of Lok Sabha Elections kicked off today and, Google Doodle took this opportunity to celebrate freedom and democracy in India by releasing the ‘Doodle India National Elections 2024’. 

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE: Google Doodle Celebrates Democracy & Voting

Lok Sabha Phase 1 Voting Live Updates: Addressing new members at the party headquarters, Omar Abdullah shared his views with the media, emphasising the significance of elections. 

He highlighted the BJP’s stance post-August 2019, noting that despite their claims of winning the hearts of Kashmiris, the reality seems different. 

Abdullah further criticised the BJP for merely maintaining a facade while other parties are actively pursuing their agendas. He mentioned a recent meeting between Tarun Chug and Sajjad Lone, indicating that Lone quickly distanced himself from Chug. Abdullah affirmed the party’s stance, stating that doors are closed for individuals like Tarun Chug and the BJP, even if some may hold different views within the party. 

(Input from Asif Qureshi)

The Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency registered a voter turnout of 52.67 per cent till 1 pm on Friday amid allegations of irregularities.

The opposition Congress and CPI(M) alleged that large-scale “rigging” happened in several places across the constituency, with the Election Commission saying that it received some complaints and was looking into those.

In the by-election to the Ramnagar assembly seat, which was being held simultaneously, a turnout of 43.01 per cent was recorded till 1 pm.

“Polling has been largely peaceful. Some complaints of stopping voters from going to booths, driving out of polling agents and malfunctioning of EVMs were received. We are checking all the complaints,” Tripura West’s Returning Officer Vishal Kumar said.

Security forces are keeping a close watch on the situation, he said. (PTI Input)

Lok Sabha Phase 1 Voting Live Updates: Chaos erupted in Silliguri’s ward number 33 as officials from the Silliguri Metropolitan Police attempted to arrest BJP MLA Shikha Chatterjee of Dubgram-Fulbari constituency, who was reportedly communicating with BJP workers in a camp office. 

Notably, the Dubgram-Fulbari area falls under the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha Constituency. Allegedly, Chatterjee attempted to enter a booth, prompting police intervention. 

BJP supporters intervened, resulting in a severe clash. 

Currently, BJP supporters have fled the scene with Chatterjee, followed by police officials. The Election Commission has sought an action-taken report regarding the incident.

(Input from Binita Ganguly)

Lok Sabha Phase 1 Voting Live Updates: Braving incessant rains, an estimated 43 per cent of voters registered their choice by 1 pm on Friday in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur parliamentary constituency, officials said.

Polling began at 7 am in 2,637 polling stations across the constituency and was going on peacefully with no untoward incident reported, they said, adding that there are 12 candidates in the fray.

Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is eyeing a third term after winning the Udhampur seat for the BJP in 2014 and 2019, is contesting against Congress leader and two-time former MP Choudhary Lal Singh and the DPAP’s G M Saroori, besides six independents.

Braving inclement weather, early voters were seen heading for polling stations before the start of voting, the officials said, adding more than 11,000 polling staff, including reserve, have been deployed while security arrangements are foolproof to ensure free and fair elections.

As the weather conditions improved in most places around noon, long queues started forming outside polling stations in the constituency that encompasses an expansive area of 16,707 square kilometers. It consists of 18 Assembly segments spanning across five districts — Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Udhampur and Kathua. (PTI Input)

Six districts of eastern Nagaland wore a deserted look on Friday as people stayed indoors following an indefinite shutdown call by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), an apex body of the seven tribal organisations of the area, to press for its demand for a separate state.

Sources said while the situation is peaceful, there is no movement of any person or vehicles except that of the district administration and other emergency services.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland Awa Loring said election officials are stationed in the 738 polling stations in the six districts of the region.

Sources added there was no voter turnout till 11am. Polling comes to an end at 4pm.

These districts are occupied by seven Naga tribes – Chang, Konyak, Sangtam, Phom, Yimkhiung, Khiamniungan and Tikhir. Their demand for separate statehood is also supported by a section of Sumi tribe belonging to the region. (PTI Input)

RJD leader Misa Bharti shared her thoughts on the first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. “”I feel that INDIA alliance candidates are winning. The way we have raised the issues of the people, I have full faith the people of the country will give a chance to the I.N.D.I.A bloc,” she told reporters. 

Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Congress MP and candidate from the Andaman and Nicobar constituency cast his vote in Port Blair. 

The BJP has fielded Bishnu Pada Ray from this constituency.

Reports of violence emerged from the Iroisemba polling station in Imphal West, Manipur. 

Manickam Tagore, Congress MP and candidate from the Virudhunagar seat cast his vote.  

In the same constituency, the BJP has nominated actor-turned-politician Raadhika Sarathkumar while DMDK has fielded Vijaya Prabhakaran.

Karti P Chidambaram, the incumbent MP representing Congress and contesting from the Sivaganga seat, cast his vote. 

The BJP has nominated Devanathan Yadav for this seat, while AIADMK has fielded A Xavierdas. 

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko cast vote in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu. Watch the video here:

Congress’s MP from Sivaganga constituency Karti P Chidambaram has cast his vote. He is facing BJP’s Devanathan Yadav and AIADMK’s A Xavierdas.

As the clock strikes 1 PM, the voting percentage across various states and union territories have been recorded. Check the figures below: 

Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 35.70%
Arunachal Pradesh – 35.65
Assam – 45.12
Bihar – 32.41
Chhattisgarh – 42.57
Jammu Kashmir – 43.11
Lakshadweep – 29.91
Madhya Pradesh – 44.43
Maharashtra – 32.36
Manipur – 46.92
Meghalaya – 48.91
Mizoram – 37.03
Nagaland – 39.33
Puducherry – 44.95
Rajasthan – 33.73
Sikkim – 36.82
Tamil Nadu – 39.51
Tripura – 53.04
Uttar Pradesh – 36.96
Uttarakhand – 37.33
West Bengal – 50.96

The Election Commission, led by CEC Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, is closely monitoring the polling processes across the country. Check out the pictures here: 

As the first phase of voting progresses, numerous voters are opting for ferry services to travel from Majuli island to Jorhat to cast their votes. Take a look at the video here: 

The chief secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands cast vote in Port Blair. 

Violence-hit Manipur saw a disturbance at a polling booth on Friday when armed miscreants reportedly barged into a polling booth in Khongman, Imphal East. The miscreants proxy voted at the booth. A damaged VVPAT machine could be seen in visuals sent by news agency PTI. Details are awaited.

An elderly voter is carried to a polling booth in Bharatpur Rajasthan to help her cast vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Arunachal CM Pema Khandu casts his vote for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Khandu cast his vote in Tawang.

Union Minister and BJP’s sitting MP from Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency Nisith Pramanik has cast his vote for the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. He is facing TMC’s Jagdish Chandra Barma Basunia and Congress’s Piya Roy Chowdhury in the constituency. Earlier, Roy Chowdhury had cast her vote. Mamata Banerjee had led a fiery campaign against Pramanik in the run up to the polls. 

Jammu & Kashmir’s Uddhampur is voting today. The Election commission has shared images from some polling booths. This is the first time that people in Jammu & Kashmir are voting after the abrogation of Article 370.

Check out Images of voters from Uttarakhand shared by the Election Commission.

A 95-year-old retired Navy veteran arrived at a ‘zero waste’ polling booth in Jaipur, Rajasthan, to cast his vote. On choosing to come to the booth and vote instead of opting for the ‘vote from home’ facility for senior citizens, he said: “It feels good to come here and cast vote.”

A CRPF Assistant Commandant of CRPF has suffered injuries in an IED blast. He was on election duty near Chihka village of Bhairamgarh. The injured soldier has been taken to Bhairamgarh Hospital for treatment, said Bijapur Police.

Former Assam CM and incumbent Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has voted in Assam’s Dibrugarh. He is contesting the Dibrugarh seat against AJP leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi.

Congress Candidate from Cooch Behar Piya Roy Chowdhury casts her vote. She is going up against the TMC’s Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia and  Union Minister Nisith Pramanik from the BJP. Earlier an incident of stone-pelting was reported from 

Nagaland minister and internet celebrity Temjen Imna Along has cast his vote for the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections at a polling station in Alongtaki, Mokokchung.

The Tehri-Garhwal seat in Uttarakhand, contested by BJP’s sitting MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and former MLA from the Congress Jot Singh Gunsola saw a voters’ turnout of 22.85% till 11 AM.

The Election Commission has shared images of electors at polling booths in Nagaland. A tribal group from Nagaland, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), has called for a boycott of polls over its demand for a separate state.

Voting percentage at 11 AM

Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 21.82%
Arunachal Pradesh – 19.34%
Assam – 27.22%
Bihar – 20.42%
Chhattisgarh – 28.12%
Jammu Kashmir – 22.6%
Lakshadweep – 16.33%
Madhya Pradesh – 30.46%
Maharashtra – 19.17%
Manipur – 28.54%
Meghalaya – 33.12%
Mizoram – 27%
Nagaland – 23.28%
Puducherry – 28.1%
Rajasthan – 22.51%
Sikkim – 21.2%
Tamil Nadu – 23.72%
Tripura – 34.54%
Uttar Pradesh – 25.2%
Uttarakhand – 24.83%
West Bengal – 33.56%

Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi along with his wife cast voted in Chennai. Take a look here: 

As of 11 AM in the first phase of polling, Tripura has marked the highest voter turnout at 33.28%, while Lakshadweep recorded the lowest turnout at 16.33%.

Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and BJP candidate from Vidisha Constituency, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, expressed gratitude for being given another opportunity to serve the people of Vidisha by BJP. 

BJP’s national president, JP Nadda, has called upon citizens as the first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections commences.

“Today is the first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections. My humble request to all of you is that you all should participate in this great festival… Your every vote is going to be against corruption, against ‘parivarvad’ and appeasement…We know that your every vote will strengthen the villages, empower women, give wings to the aspirations of the youth and contribute to the farmers moving forward with dignity… I also want to say that your vote will fulfil the resolve of a safe India, a prosperous India and a developed India and for this, it is necessary for all of you to vote and ensure your participation in this election.”

Tamil Nadu witnessed the participation of actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan arrived at a polling booth in Koyambedu, Chennai to cast his vote. 

Atul Kashyap, Senior Vice President for South Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce, President of the US-India Business Council, and US-Bangladesh Business Council, as well as a retired US Ambassador, took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the people of India as they embark on the largest electoral event. 

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who is one of the VIP candidates in the first phase of voting from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat exuded confidence saying he believes he will win by a “very big” margin. 

“We are celebrating the country’s biggest festival with great enthusiasm…In Nagpur, I would especially appeal to the voters that the temperature is high here so they should come early and vote,” Gadkari said. 

“Last time there was 54 per cent voting, this time our resolve is to take the voting percentage to 75 per cent. I will definitely win this election by a very big margin…,” he added.

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has fielded Congress leader Vikas Thakre as the candidate against him.

Trinamool Congress candidate from Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha constituency Nirmal Chandra Roy casts his vote at a polling station in Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri. He appealed to the people “to cast their votes peacefully and maintain law and order…”

Lok Sabha Polls Phase 1 Live: As the first phase of polling commenced, Tripura marked the highest voter turnout by 9 AM, with 15.21%. In contrast, Lakshadweep reported the lowest voter participation at 5.59%.

Yog guru Baba Ramdev Patanjali Ayurved’s Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna reached a polling station in Haridwar to cast their vote. 

Uttar Pradesh has recorded a voter turnout of around 11 per cent while it has been the lowest in Arunachal Pradesh with around 4 per cent as voting began for the first phase at 7 am. 

Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 8.64%
Arunachal Pradesh – 4.95%
Assam – 11.15%
Bihar – 9.23%
Chhattisgarh – 12.02%
Jammu Kashmir – 10.43%
Lakshadweep -5.59%
Madhya Pradesh – 14.12%
Maharashtra – 6.98%
Manipur – 7.63%
Meghalaya – 12.96%
Mizoram – 9.36%
Nagaland – 7.65%
Puducherry – 7.49%
Rajasthan – 10.67%
Sikkim – 6.63%
Tamil Nadu – 8.21%
Tripura – 13.62%
Uttar Pradesh – 12.22%
Uttarakhand – 10.41%
West Bengal – 15.09%

11 per cent voting took place in Saharanpur till 9:00 pm

Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 8.64%
Arunachal Pradesh – 4.95
Assam – 11.15
Bihar – 9.23
Chhattisgarh – 12.02
Jammu and Kashmir – 10.43
Lakshadweep – 5.59
Madhya Pradesh – 14.12
Maharashtra – 6.98
Manipur – 7.63
Meghalaya – 12.96
Mizoram – 9.36
Nagaland – 7.65
Puducherry – 7.49
Rajasthan – 10.67
Sikkim – 6.63
Tamil Nadu – 8.21
Tripura – 13.62
Uttar Pradesh – 12.22
Uttarakhand – 10.41
West Bengal – 15.09

11% voting till 9:00 am in Saharanpur

An incident of stone-pelting has been reported from West Bengal’s Cooch Behar’s Chandamari area, and one BJP worker was injured. (input from Shree Nivas) 

Voting Time:

• From 7 AM to 6 PM (Voting end time may vary according to the seat)

Voting Centres: 1.87 lakh

Candidates:

Voters:

• Voters: 16.63 Crore

  • Male: 8.4 Crore
  • Female: 8.23 Crore
  • Third Gender: 11,371
  • First-time Voters: 35.67 Lakh
  • Young Voters (20-29 years): 3.51 Crore
  • 85+ years: 14.14 Lakh
  • PwD Voters: 13.89 Lakh

Transportation of Security Personnel:

• Vehicles: 1 Lakh
• Special Trains: 84
• Helicopters: 41

Polling Officers: 18 Lakh

Border Checkposts:

• Interstate: 1374
• International: 162

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister and DMK leader, MK Stalin cast his vote in Chennai. He remarked, “I am proud to cast my vote. All voters should vote”. 

In response to allegations made by the DMK that the BJP is distributing money in Coimbatore, the Tamil Nadu BJP chief and the party’s candidate from the Coimbatore constituency have firmly denied the accusations. The BJP chief stated, “…I am running this election as a matter of principle…Their Intelligence, Tamil Nadu Police, DMK, AIADMK – what they are doing in politics, everybody is seeing. They are spending more than Rs 1000 Crores in Coimbatore. If they can bring one voter and make them stand in front of the media and say that some BJP guy tried to influence them, I will leave politics the same day…I am challenging the Dravidian party, you bring one voter and make them stand in front of the media.”

Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath said, “I have full faith in the people of Chhindwara. I have full hope that they will stand by the truth”. 

His remarks come as his son, Nakul Nath, contests the Lok Sabha seat from Chhindwara.

KN Nehru, a Tamil Nadu Minister, cast his vote in Thillai Nagar, Tiruchirappalli.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X: “It is an important day today, as the first phase of voting is taking place in the country. I appeal to all the voters who are voting in this phase to vote in large numbers because every vote of yours has the power to create a secure, developed, and self-reliant India. Your vote is not only meant to determine the fate of a Lok Sabha or a candidate but also to shape a bright future for India.”

“My appeal is to choose a strong and decisive leadership that has shown the determination to free the country from corruption, nepotism, and appeasement while fulfilling its promises. Form a government that has not only accelerated development but also ensured infallible security along borders, provided health, housing, electricity, and gas facilities to every poor person, and preserved, promoted, and nurtured India’s culture and cultural symbols,” his post read. 

Total Seats – 47

• Tamil Nadu – 35
• Bihar – 1
• Madhya Pradesh – 1
• Maharashtra – 1
• Assam – 1
• Manipur – 1
• Meghalaya – 2
• Mizoram – 1
• Nagaland – 1
• Sikkim – 1
• Lakshadweep – 1
• Puducherry – 1

1. Voting on 102 seats across 21 states/UTs
2. The largest phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
3. First test for the INDIA alliance in Lok Sabha polls
4. Highest voting with 39 seats in Tamil Nadu
5. Utilisation of voting rights by 16.63 crore voters
6. Decision by 11 ministers and 7 former CMs of Modi government
7. Veteran candidates like Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju, Bhupendra Yadav
8. Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath richest candidate in the first phase
9. Voting also for assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim
10. Voting to be completed in 10 states/UTs today

Tamilisai Soundarajan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for South Chennai, cast her vote today at a polling booth in Saligramam, Chennai.

– BJP State President Kiran Dev- Will vote between 8 am to 9 am in Shantinagar polling center of Jagdalpur.
– Congress State President Deepak Baij – 8 am at Ghariya polling center of Chitrakot in Jagdalpur district.
– Congress candidate from Bastar Kawasi Lakhma – Polling booth of Nagaras village of Sukma district between 7 am to 8 am.
– BJP candidate from Bastar Mahesh Kashyap – Polling center of Kalcha village of Jagdalpur district between 7 am to 8 am.

– Kamal Nath and his wife Alka Nath and Nakulnath and his wife Priya Nath – 7 am, village Shikarpur, Sausar assembly constituency, Chhindwara.
– BJP candidate from Chhindwara, Bantu Sahu – 9 am, booth number 287, printing press, Chhindwara.
– Faggan Singh Kulaste, BJP candidate from Mandla seat – Around 10 am, Chhinharetta village, Mandla.
– MP Public Works Minister Rakesh Singh – Will cast his vote at the Science College booth, Jabalpur at 10 am.
– Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha will cast his vote at 9 am in Arya Kanya Shala, Napier Town, Jabalpur.
– BJP candidate from Jabalpur Ashish Dubey will cast his vote at 8 am in MLB Kanya Shala Wright Town, Jabalpur.
– Congress candidate Dinesh Yadav from Jabalpur – will cast his vote at the government school located in Dixitpura at 8 am.

– Mohan Bhagwat- 7 am, Bhauji Daftari School, Nagpur
– Union Minister Nitin Gadkari – 9.30 am, Town Hall, Mahal, Nagpur
– Devendra Fadnavis- 10.30 am, Nagpur City, Dharampeth
– Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister in Maharashtra Government – Will vote in Chandrapur city between 8 am to 8.30 am.

– Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal – 7:30 am Navodaya Women Teacher Training College, Room No. 7 Siddharth Nagar, Gator Road, Jagatpura, Jaipur.
– Deputy CM Diya Kumari – Government School at 9 am. Sugar Burj, Jaipur
– BJP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore – 8 am Tagore School, Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur.
– Congress leader Sachin Pilot- 10 am Residency School, Sardar Patel Marg, Jaipur.
– Manju Sharma, BJP candidate from Jaipur seat – 9.15 am Adarsh Girls School, Gangori, Jaipur.
– Congress candidate from Jaipur seat, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas – 8 am, Subodh School No. 4 Dispensary, Jaipur.
– BJP candidate from Nagaur, Jyoti Mirdha – 8 am, Mrs. Ratanbahan Rajmal Choudhary Government Senior Girls Secondary School, Room No. 7, Nagaur.
– Hanuman Beniwal, candidate of India Alliance from Nagaur – around 9 am in Baran village, 15 km from Nagaur.
– BJP candidate from Alwar and Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav – will leave his house at 7 in the morning. The name of the place where voting will take place has not been announced yet.
– Union Minister and BJP candidate from Bikaner Arjun Ram Meghwal – 8 am in Kismidesar, Bikaner.
– Congress candidate from Bikaner Govind Ram Meghwal – will cast his vote at 10 am in Pugalgarh, Bikaner.
– Princess Siddhi Kumari- will vote in Bikaner city only.
– BJP candidate from Churu, Devendra Jhanjariya – will vote in his village Jhanjariya’s Dhani between 7 am to 7.30 am.
Rahul Kaswan, a Congress candidate from Churu, will cast his vote at 7.30 am in his village Kalri Rajgarh.

– Kumar Sarvjeet (RJD candidate from Gaya) – Polling place, Mastipur, in front of Hotel Embassy.
– Bihar Government Minister Prem Kumar – Swarajyapuri Road, near Mahavir School, Gaya
– RJD candidate from Nawada Shravan Kushwaha – 7 am Sonubigha School, Nawada
– Sumit Singh, Minister of Science and Technology in the Government of Bihar – Will cast his vote today at 9.30 am at Paraki polling station.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Kick-Off: The general elections have commenced today, marking the beginning of the first phase of voting with 102 seats up for grabs across 21 states and Union Territories.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has confirmed that special arrangements have been put in place for internally displaced voters in Manipur for the first phase of elections.

“The phase 1 is the election. Today, they will vote in Manipur. We have made special scheme that in the camps, we will make all facilitation to vote. There are more than 18,000 who have already registered with us for voting from the camps. Our teams will take their vote wherever they are. Our attempt was and is that nobody is disenfranchised because of this…I am sure people will vote and establish a vote which gives the answers,” he told ANI. 

The Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar told ANI: “Everything is in place. The preparations started two years back and a wide range of preparations. So, it’s from preparing the voter list to preparing polling stations, finding their routes, how to reach their deployment of forces, finding out vulnerable booths, and then creating amenities at the booths…So, it’s a tremendous exercise that started over two years back. Also, the great technological interventions are there. So, everything is prepared over roughly 1.86 lakh polling stations to go on the first phase of polling with around 16.86 crore voters. So, everything is set. It is now for voters to come and vote in large numbers on every polling station.”

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “Be sure to vote for your bright future.”

Renowned cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to advocate for the importance of voting, stating, “Let us put everything aside and prioritise the most important task: voting. It is our chance to make a difference and score big for our country. My Vote, My Duty!”

Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju, Sarbananda Sonowal, Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitendra Singh, Bhupendra Yadav, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan, and Nisith Pramanik are contesting elections in the first phase. 

– Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami – Will vote at 8.30 am in Nagla Terai Khatima, Udham Singh Nagar.
– Trivendra Singh Rawat- 8 am DPS School, Defense Colony, Dehradun
– Harish Rawat- 9.30 am Government Primary School, Majra Dehradun
– Anil Baluni – Opened Government Primary School of Kot Block at 8 am, will vote in Pauri Garhwal.
– Baba Ramdev- Will cast his vote at Dadu Bagh Kankhal at 10 am.

– BJP candidate from Saharanpur Raghav Lakhanpal – 7.30 am Jain Degree College, Saharanpur
– Congress candidate from Saharanpur Imram Masood – Around 10 am in the morning Postal Training Center Ambala Road, Saharanpur
– Suresh Rana (former Cabinet Minister) – 8 am Primary School No. 1, Thana Bhawan, Shamli
– Iqra Hasan (SP candidate, Kairana) – 9 am, Jain Dharma School
– Nahid Hasan (SP MLA) – 9 am Jain Dharma School, Kairana, Shamli
– UP BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary – 9 am Bilsonia College Civil Lines, Moradabad
– ST Hassan- Around 11 am, Government Inter College, Moradabad
– BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi – Today at 8.30 am, booth number 297 located at Government Rural Development Institute, Daniyapur, Shankarpur in Rampur.
– Former minister Nabab Kazim Ali Khan alias Naved Mian – will cast his vote at booth number 1, Rampur at 10:30 am.
– Begum Noor Bano – will cast her vote at booth number 1, District Panchayat Rampur at 10:30 am.
– BJP candidate from Rampur, Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi – will cast his vote at 8 am in booth number 279 village Kherullapur, Rampur.
– SP candidate from Rampur, Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi – will cast his vote at 7 am in booth number 09 village Rajanagar, Rampur.
BJP candidate from Muzaffarnagar Sanjeev Baliyan will cast his vote at Kanya Pathshala in his village Kutbi around 11 am.
– SP candidate from Muzaffarnagar Harendra Malik – will cast his vote at Jain Kanya Pathshala Prempuri at 7 am.
– Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union – Jats will cast their votes in Inter College City around 1 to 2 pm.
– National President of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Naresh Tikait – Voting is in DAV Inter College Sisauli. (They say that they are not sure whether they will vote or not)

The high-octane Lok Sabha elections are set to kick off today, with 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories slated for polling in the first phase. As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), spearheaded by Prime Minister Modi, aims for a reinforced majority and a consecutive third term in Centre, the Opposition coalition under the banner of I.N.D.I.A is striving for a resurgence following setbacks in the 2014 and 2019 elections.

In the first phase, voting is slated for all Lok Sabha constituencies in 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). Additionally, polling will take place for 12 seats in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.