A total of 1,202 candidates will be in the running
After a voter turnout of over 65% in the first and biggest phase of the Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are now on Phase 2, which will see voting take place in 88 seats from 13 states and UTs. The fate of many big faces will be decided in this phase.
Here Are Five Facts About The Second Phase:
- Of the 13 states and Union Territories, Kerala is the only state where voting will take place in all constituencies on Friday. Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made a concerted effort to reach out to the electorate in the state, which has been dominated by fronts led by the Congress and the CPM. The BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat in the state.
- In Kerala, all eyes will be on two contests - between Congress Rahul Gandhi and the CPI's Annie Raja in Wayanad; and three-term Congress MP Shashi Tharoor against Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram. The Wayanad contest will be closely watched also because INDIA allies Congress and the Left Front have ramped up their attacks, with both Mr Gandhi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan taking potshots at each other. The BJP candidate from the constituency is the state party chief K Surendran.
- Polling will be completed in Manipur and Rajasthan. In Manipur, the constituency of Outer Manipur, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, is the only seat where elections were scheduled in two phases. Of Rajasthan's 25 seats, 12 voted last Friday and 13 will do so during the second phase.
- A total of 1,202 candidates (including four from Outer Manipur) will be in the running on Friday and their fate will be decided by 15.9 crore voters. The turnout in these seats in 2019 was just over 70% but, experts said, a predicted heatwave in at least four states - among other factors - could lead to that number reducing this year.
- Polling was also supposed to take place in Madhya Pradesh's Betul on Friday, but it has been postponed to May 7. This was decided after the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate for the constituency, Ashok Bhalavi, died of a heart attack on April 9.
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