Lok Sabha polls phase 2 witnesses 70.21 pc voting in Kerala; Wayanad records 72.70 pc turnout

NEW DELHI: Polling concluded for 88 seats across 13 states and Union Territories under the second phase of general elections on Friday, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala recording 72.70 per cent voter turnout.

Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala witnessed a tough contest between INDIA bloc allies. Despite being a part of the INDIA bloc, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) participated separately in the elections.

CPI fielded Annie Raja whereas the BJP fielded K Surendran as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in its attempt to put up a tough fight for the Gandhi family scion in Wayanad.

Kerala, where polling concluded for all 20 Lok Sabha seats in the second phase of the general elections on Friday, recorded a voter turnout of 70.21 per cent till the last report, according to data shared by the Election Commission (EC).

Voter turnout in Thiruvananthapuram, where former UN diplomat and Congress leader has been fielded against Union Minister of State, Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Panniyan Ravindran recorded 64.55 per cent turnout.

Tharoor, who has held the seat since 2009, is facing a challenge as the BJP has named a strong face against him. Chandrashekhar has served as the MoS for Electronics, Entrepreneurship and Information Technology.

Due to extreme heat, people turned up in large numbers towards the closing hours in Kerala. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a heatwave in Palakkad district earlier.

In some constituencies, the voters also had to wait for hours in the queue due to technical reasons. Voters alleged that the lack of experience of polling staff in certain booths was the reason for the delay.

Voting lasted till 10 pm in some booths of Vadakara constituency. Voting was delayed in some booths of Vadakara, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani and Alathur constituencies. The Election Commission has informed that till 8.15 pm on Fridya, 70.35 per cent of voters have exercised their voting rights.

Voters at the Mount Carmel College polling station in Bengaluru on Friday.

Karnataka recorded a voter turnout of 68.47 per cent in the second phase. Bangalore South where BJP leader Tejasvi Surya contested the election against INC’s Soumya Reddy recorded a voter turnout of 52.94 per cent. Notably, the seat has been a bastion for the BJP, as the party has not been defeated from here since 1991.

Mandya, one of the prestigious constituencies in Karnataka, where former Chief Minister and JDS candidate H D Kumaraswamy contested the elections against Congress candidate Venkataramane Gowda witnessed a total voter turnout of 81.29 per cent. The BJP and JD-S fought the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka as allies.

Actor Arun Govil, who is renowned for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the epic Ramayana on national television, contested the general elections from Meerut on BJP’s ticket against Samajwadi Party’s Sunita Verma and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Devvrat Kumar Tyagi. Meerut recorded a total voter turnout of 58.70 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh, where polling concluded for eight constituencies, witnessed a total voter turnout of 54.85 per cent. Mathura, where actor-turned-politician Hema Malini contested the polls against Congress party’s Mukesh Dhangar and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Suresh Singh recorded a total voter turnout of 49.29 till the last report.

Polling of 76.16 per cent was reported in the Rajnandgaon constituency, where sitting BJP MP Santosh Pandey was fielded against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Chhattisgarh recorded a voter turnout of 75.16 per cent till the last report.

The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 13 constituencies of Rajasthan witnessed a total voter turnout of 64.07 per cent. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, who is a two-time BJP MP from Kota was pitted against Congress’ Prahlad Gunjal, who is a former BJP leader, where 70.82 per cent voter turnout was reported.

A provisional voter turnout of 57.81 per cent was recorded in the five constituencies of Bihar that went to vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on Friday. Purnea recorded the highest turnout among the five seats with 61.39 per cent polling, followed by Kishanganj at 61.75 per cent, Katihar at 61.05 per cent, Banka at 53.90 per cent and Bhagalpur at 51.44 per cent.

Congress leader Pappu Yadav decided to go solo after being denied a ticket from the Purnia Lok Sabha constituency. Pappu had represented Purnia three times between 1991 and 2004.

There were over 14.78 lakh registered 85+ years old, 42,226 voters above 100 years and 14.7 lakh PwD voters for phase two who have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election, the world’s largest electoral exercise, was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout registered was over 62 per cent. The third phase election will be held on May 7. (ANI)