AMN / WEB DESK
Stage is set for first phase of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections. Polling will be held in 102 constituencies spread over 21 states and Union territories on Friday.
The voting is scheduled to commence at 7 am across 1.87 lakh polling stations, manned by more than 18 lakh polling officials, amid tight security to avert any untoward incident. The voting will culminate at 6 pm.
More than 16.63 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,625 candidates, including 134 women candidates. The eligible voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women, and 11,371 third-gender electors. The number of first-time voters is 35.67 lakh.
Of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the first phase, 39 are from Tamil Nadu, 12 from Rajasthan, eight from Uttar Pradesh, six from Madhya Pradesh, and four are from Bihar.
The northeastern states that will go to polls in the first phase include Assam with five seats; Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya with two seats each; and Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Nagaland with one seat each.
Simultaneously, assembly elections will be held in Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats).
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase are Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Sarbananda Sonowal, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress and DMK’s Kanimozhi. An aggressive K Annamalai, who is steering the BJP campaign in Tamil Nadu, is also among the contestants.
Polling will begin at 7 AM and end at 6 PM. The voters comprise 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender.
The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations.
While the National Democratic alliance(NDA) under Prime Minister Modi is seeking a stronger majority, the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Besides Gadkari, Sonowal, seven other Union ministers–Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan and Nisith Pramanik–are in the poll fray in the first phase.
Two former chief ministers–Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh)–and Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana to return to active politics, also figure in Friday’s poll battle. Soundararajan is contesting from Chennai South on BJP ticket.
In 2019, the UPA had won 45 of the 102 seats at stake on Friday and the NDA 41. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday urged people to cast their ballot and reminded people of the significance of each vote, saying there have been instances when one vote has mattered in a critical contest.
Elections are the most beautiful expression of India’s democracy and there is “nothing like voting”, he said in a video message.