Voters gear up: LS polls kick off with 102 constituencies in first phase
New Delhi: India embarks on the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections this Friday, marking the beginning of the world’s largest democratic event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vying for an unprecedented third term as 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories cast their votes.
A staggering 16.63 crore individuals are set to participate in the electoral process on the opening day. With nearly 97 crore voters registered for the 543-seat Lok Sabha, the ruling BJP aims to challenge the dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu and maintain its stronghold nationwide. Meanwhile, the Opposition INDIA bloc faces an arduous challenge to overthrow the BJP-led NDA.
The initial phase includes 35.67 lakh first-time voters and 3.51 crore young voters aged between 20-29 years. The vote counting will commence on June 4, following the conclusion of the elections on June 1.
Voting will encompass all seats 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). Additional polling will occur in 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 each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.
Concurrently, Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats) will conduct their Assembly elections.
Key candidates in the first phase include Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Sarbananda Sonowal, Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, and DMK’s Kanimozhi. K Annamalai, leading the BJP’s charge in Tamil Nadu, is also a notable contender.
Polling stations will open from 7 am to 6 pm, accommodating 8.4 crore male, 8.23 crore female, and 11,371 third-gender voters.
The Election Commission has mobilised over 18 lakh personnel to manage 1.87 lakh polling stations.
The NDA, under Modi’s leadership, seeks to solidify its majority, while the INDIA bloc aims to recover from setbacks in the previous two elections.
In addition to Gadkari and Sonowal, seven other Union ministers are contesting in the first phase. Former chief ministers Biplab Kumar Deb and Nabam Tuki, along with Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently stepped down as Telangana’s governor, are also participating in the electoral fray.
In the 2019 elections, the UPA secured 45 of the 102 seats voting on Friday, with the NDA winning 41. Delimitation has since altered six of these constituencies.
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.
In view of the heatwave conditions, Kumar said people must take all precautions. “But I know the spirit of the Indian voter will beat the summer heat,” he added.
“In our great democracy, elections belong to you, the choice belongs to you... you are deciding the government. You are doing it for your sake, for your family and children, for your village or town and, of course, for the country,” he said.
“I call upon the youth to lead a revolution in electoral participation.”
In Tamil Nadu, which accounts for the largest number of seats in the first phase, the BJP had drawn a blank in 2019. This time though, the BJP conducted a spirited campaign, led by Prime Minister Modi, in a bid to gain a foothold in the Dravidian land.
The election mood set in pretty early in the state in January, with Modi making repeated visits and declaring development and honour for Tamil language and culture as his main election plank. The BJP has also denounced the DMK-Congress alliance over alleged corruption and dynasty politics.
Coimbatore, the hub of western Tamil Nadu, is the most keenly watched constituency in the state and Annamalai, the BJP’s state chief, is battling against Dravidian giants the DMK and AIADMK. He also faces challenge from the Tamil nationalist, Naam Tamilar Katchi in the four-cornered contest with anti-DMK-Congress votes split into three.
The Katchatheevu issue has also led to a slanging match between the BJP and the DMK-Congress combine.
Tight security arrangements have been put in place for the first of the two-phased Lok Sabha elections in Manipur, which had been rocked by ethnic violence over the last one year.
The Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat, which comprises 32 of the 60 assembly segments in the state, and 15 assembly segments of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat will go to polls in the first phase. Voting will be held in the remaining 13 segments of Outer Manipur in the second phase on April 26.
In Rajasthan, Nagaur is set to witness a close contest between the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) candidate and former MP Hanuman Beniwal in alliance with Congress against BJP nominee and former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha.
Beniwal with the BJP’s support in the 2019 elections defeated Mirdha, who was then a Congress candidate. However, Beniwal separated from the NDA in 2020 over the farmers’ agitation issue.
The prestigious Dibrugarh constituency in Assam has three candidates in fray with Union minister Sonowal, a Rajya Sabha MP, pitted against the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA) candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi of the AJP and Aam Aadmi Party’s Manoj Dhanowar.
In Jorhat, four candidates are in contention, with Lok Sabha’s Deputy Leader of the Opposition Gaurav Gogoi locked in a direct contest with sitting BJP MP Topon Gogoi.
Voters of eight Lok Sabha constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh, falling in the Jat and sugarcane belt, are also eligible to exercise their franchise. The seats going to polls are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.
