The largest democracy in the world, India, commenced its general elections with the first phase of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections on Friday. The Election Commission of India reported a voter turnout of nearly 64% for the 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories. Tripura saw the highest turnout with over 80%, while Bihar had the lowest with less than 49%. The voting percentage is expected to increase as reports from all polling stations are collected, as voting continued until 6 PM in many areas. This initial phase includes the highest number of parliamentary constituencies compared to the following phases.
Political parties have intensified their campaigns, with PM Modi addressing rallies in Karnataka’s Bengaluru and Chikkaballapura, and Rahul Gandhi holding rallies in Bihar’s Bhagalpur and UP’s Amroha.
The focus is on the two major political alliances, the INDIA bloc and the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as they compete in the Lok Sabha Election 2024. The INDIA bloc includes parties like Congress, AAP, and TMC, while NDA consists of BJP, PMK, and JDU among others.
NDA aims for a third consecutive term, echoing ‘abki baar 400 paar’, while the INDIA bloc focuses on promises like MSP for farmers and cash handouts to women in their campaign.
Lok Sabha Election 2024: Phase-wise schedule
• Phase 1- April 19 (polling done)
• Phase 2- April 26
• Phase 3- May 7
• Phase 4 – May 13
• Phase 5 – May 20
• Phase 6 – May 25
• Phase 7 – June 1
Getting a ticket to contest the Vadodara LS poll was something I never imagined: BJP’s youngest candidate in Gujarat.
Hemang Joshi had no idea what was about to happen when sitting MP Ranjan Bhatt unexpectedly withdrew from the race for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, despite being renominated by the BJP. While enjoying a musical programme on Holi with his wife, Joshi received numerous congratulatory calls. It was then that he discovered the BJP had chosen him as their candidate for the Vadodara seat. At the age of 33, Joshi is the youngest candidate from the BJP in Gujarat, a state that elects 26 MPs. Recognizing the significant role he has been entrusted with, Joshi acknowledges the challenge of filling the shoes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won from Vadodara in 2014 before moving to Varanasi. Vadodara, an erstwhile princely state renowned for its rich cultural heritage and industrial development.
The total value of movable and immovable assets owned by Union Minister Giriraj Singh amounts to ₹10.16 crore.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is running for re-election from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat as the NDA nominee, declared assets valued at ₹10.16 crore in the affidavit submitted by him. His wife, on the other hand, possesses movable and immovable assets worth ₹4.15 crore. Singh officially submitted his nomination papers for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat as the NDA candidate on Friday. The upcoming elections in Bihar’s fourth phase on May 13 will cover constituencies including Begusarai, Darbhanga, Ujiarpur, Samastipur, and Munger Lok Sabha seats.
PM Modi will speak at public gatherings in Bengaluru and Chikkaballapura today.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to conduct a public gathering at 2 pm today in Chokkahalli village of Chikkballapura, as per the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following this, he will proceed to the state capital Bengaluru to participate in another meeting at Palace Grounds around 4 pm.
Goa is currently experiencing a downpour of cash, alcohol, drugs, and complimentary items.
Just under three weeks prior to the May 7th election, Goa has seen a significant amount of cash, drugs, alcohol, and freebies being distributed. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has seized over one lakh litres of alcohol, ₹15.64 crore in cash, drugs valued at ₹3.23 crore, and freebies totaling ₹1.18 crore in the past six weeks (March 1-April 13, 2024). Goa, despite being the smallest state with only two parliamentary seats, has had higher seizures compared to other states. For instance, Gujarat had a cash seizure of ₹6.5 crore, National Capital Territory Delhi had ₹11.28 crore, Uttarakhand had ₹6.1 crore, and Odisha had ₹1.47 crore during the same period. Interestingly, Nagaland, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry have not had any cash seizures at all.
In the initial phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, 75.95 percent of voters in Assam have exercised their right to vote.
In the first phase of polls in Assam, a voter turnout of 75.95 percent was recorded across five parliamentary constituencies. The Election Commission reported that Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, Dibrugarh, and Jorhat witnessed 75.95 percent of voters exercising their right to vote. Jorhat parliamentary constituency had the highest turnout with 79.48 percent, followed by Dibrugarh with 76.74 percent, Kaziranga with 75.79 percent, Sonitpur with 74.81 percent, and Lakhimpur with 72.65 percent.
MP CM Yadav stated that politicians in Pakistan have expressed their desire for PM Modi to be their country’s leader.
During his campaign in the Hoshangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He highlighted that even politicians in Pakistan have acknowledged their desire for a leader like Modi. Yadav also attributed the division of India to the actions of the Congress party. Furthermore, he claimed that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) aspire to be a part of India due to the challenges they face in their own country. Yadav emphasized that leaders should be able to earn praise even from their adversaries, and he commended Modi for bringing pride to the nation.