Assam and Bihar both recorded a voter turnout of 46.31 per cent and 33.80 per cent respectively. Lok Sabha elections 2024 updates: Narendra Modi's third tenure as Prime Minister or Rahul Gandhi's debut in 7 Lok Kalyan Marg? India is all set to vote to decide the fates of the two leaders and their alliances in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 26. Voting is currently underway across 88 Lok Sabha constituencies in 13 states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday backed the Supreme Court's verdict on the petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of EVM-VVPAT slips. Attacking the Opposition parties, Modi said that they are trying to get rid of the EVMs now that the poor and honest voters have the strength of EVMs.
The top court in its verdict also said that the old system of voting using ballot papers is not coming back. "One direction is after the completion of symbol loading process, the Symbol Loading Unit should be sealed. The SLU should be stored at least for a period of 45 days," Justice Khanna said while announcing the verdict.
After casting her vote in Kanakapura, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar's daughter Aisshwarya DKS Hegde told news agency ANI that she does not have any intention to enter politics. She further said that she and the other person will grow only if the country grows, adding that she is an educationist and is happy in her field of work.
As of 1 pm, Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 31.77 per cent whereas Tripura recorded the highest voter turnout across the country at 54.26 per cent. Assam and Bihar both recorded a voter turnout of 46.31 per cent and 33.80 per cent respectively. Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka recorded a voter turnout of 53.09 per cent, 42.88 per cent, and 38.23 per cent respectively.
Moreover, Bangalore South sitting MP Tejasvi Surya urged BJP voters to come out and vote in large numbers. He said that no matter the heat or the rain, the voters will decide the future of India for the next 5 years. Surya said that the BJP supporters are 80 per cent but on the polling day, only 20 per cent come out and vote.
Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar has alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has allegedly indulged in booth jamming and threatened voters to vote against the BJP. He also said that he is going to those booths where the voters are being threatened. After casting his vote, Majumdar appealed to the voters to come out in large numbers.
Also Read: Phase 2 Lok Sabha polls 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman, Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murthy, Rahul Dravid, actor Prakash Raj cast votes in Bengaluru
Also Read: Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 2: How to check and download your voting slip online
Check out Lok Sabha polls 2024 live updates on BusinessToday.In:
The Election Commission of India has filed a case against Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya for sharing a video on social media and allegedly influencing votes on the ground of religion. In an X post, the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka wrote, “Case is booked against Tejasvi Surya MP and Candidate of Bengaluru South PC on 25.04.24 at Jayanagar PS u/s 123(3) for posting a video in X handle and soliciting votes on the ground of religion.”
Lok Sabha elections 2024: 'Congress ki loot, Zindagi ke sath bhi, Zindagi ke baad bhi', says PM Modi
Speaking at a public rally in Bihar's Munger, PM Modi warned against the Inheritance Tax proposed by Congress and RJD, stating it would result in the looting of wealth to benefit their favored voter base. He expressed concern on behalf of the nation, claiming that citizens, both young and old, are troubled by this prospect. Modi emphasized that this taxation scheme would continue even after death, and criticized the alliance between RJD and Congress on this issue.
Lok Sabha elections: Maharashtra and Tripura voter turnout
Maharashtra has the lowest polling rate at 43.01%, while Tripura has the highest voter turnout at 68.92%.
Lok Sabha polls 2024: Madhya Pradesh voter turnout till 3 pm
Madhya Pradesh recorded a 46.50% voter turnout by 3 pm in the second phase of polling for six parliamentary seats. The polling began at 7 am for the seats of Tikamgarh (SC), Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, and Hoshangabad. Among these, Hoshangabad leads in voter turnout with 55.79%, followed by Tikamgarh at 48.76%, Satna at 47.68%, Khajuraho at 43.89%, Damoh at 45.69%, and Rewa at 37.55% by 3 pm.
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Dakshina Kannada | 48.10 |
| Udupi Chikmaglur | 46.43 |
| Bangalore North | 32.25 |
| Bangalore South | 31.51 |
| Bangalore Central | 30.10 |
| Hassan | 40.99 |
| Chitradurga | 39.05 |
| Mandya | 40.70 |
| Mysore | 41.51 |
| Chamarajanagar | 39.57 |
| Chikkballapur | 39.85 |
| Kolar | 38.42 |
| Tumakuru | 41.91 |
| Overall turnout | 38.23 |
More than 42 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling in the Jammu constituency in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, news agency PTI reported citing Jammu and Kashmir election officials. Around 42.88 per cent votes were polled till 1 pm. The constituency has more than 17.80 lakh eligible voters in the constituency.
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Darjeeling | 49.09 |
| Raiganj | 47.56 |
| Balurghat | 44.93 |
| Overall turnout | 47.29 |
Source: PTI
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Darrang-Udalguri | 49.72 |
| Karimganj | 49.14 |
| Diphu (SC) | 46.40 |
| Nagaon | 44.48 |
| Silchar | 40.23 |
| Overall turnout | 46.31 |
Source: PTI
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Kishanganj | 34.65 |
| Katihar | 35.37 |
| Purnia | 36.59 |
| Bhagalpur | 30.29 |
| Banka | 32.32 |
| Overall turnout | 33.80 |
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the grand old party will continue with its political campaign on the greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust process. His post came hours after the Supreme Court rejected pleas seeking 100 per cent verification of votes using EVMs.
He further said the Congress was not a party either directly or indirectly to the petition on VVPATs dismissed by the Supreme Court. "We have taken note of the verdict of the 2-judge bench and our political campaign on the greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process will continue," he said in his post.
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Parbhani | 33.88 |
| Nanded | 32.93 |
| Wardha | 32.32 |
| Akola | 32.25 |
| Yavatmal-Washim | 31.47 |
| Amravati | 31.40 |
| Hingoli | 30.46 |
| Buldhana | 29.07 |
| Overall turnout | 31.77 |
Source: PTI
| Constituency | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Amroha | 40.67 |
| Meerut | 38.33 |
| Baghpat | 34.17 |
| Ghaziabad | 33.99 |
| Gautam Buddh Nagar | 36.05 |
| Bulandshahr | 35.35 |
| Aligarh | 35.55 |
| Mathura | 32.70 |
| Overall turnout | 35.73 |
Source: PTI
Also Read: UP Lok Sabha Elections Phase 2 voter turnout: Noida, Ghaziabad record 24.48% at 11 am
| State/UT | Voter turnout till 1 pm (in %) |
| Assam | 46.31 |
| Bihar | 33.80 |
| Chhattisgarh | 53.09 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 42.88 |
| Karnataka | 38.23 |
| Kerala | 39.26 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 38.96 |
| Maharashtra | 31.77 |
| Manipur | 54.26 |
| Rajasthan | 40.39 |
| Tripura | 54.47 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 35.73 |
| West Bengal | 47.29 |
Source: Election Commission of India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday backed the Supreme Court for its verdict scrapping pleas seeking 100 per cent verification of votes through EVM-VVPAT. PM Modi said that the top court has given a strong verdict today, stating that the old system of voting using ballot papers will not come back.
The Prime Minister said: "RJD and Congress alliance in Bihar neither cares about the constitution of India, not about democracy. They did not let people exercise their right to vote for decades. Booth capturing was very common... They did not even let the people step out to vote... Now when the poor and honest voters have the strength of EVM, they are trying all they can to get rid of the EVM... Today, the Supreme Court has given a strong verdict saying that the old system of ballot paper voting will not come back."
Janata Dal (Secular) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda said that the BJP-JDS alliance is going to win all the 14 seats in Karnataka where the polls were conducted. "We (BJP-JDS) are going to win 14 out of 14 seats (in the state)," Gowda said.
--ANI
| State/UT | Voter turnout till 11 am (in %) |
| Assam | 27.43 |
| Bihar | 21.68 |
| Chhattisgarh | 35.47 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 26.61 |
| Karnataka | 22.34 |
| Kerala | 25.61 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 28.15 |
| Maharashtra | 18.83 |
| Manipur | 33.22 |
| Rajasthan | 26.84 |
| Tripura | 36.42 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 24.31 |
| West Bengal | 31.25 |
Source: Election Commission of India
