Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 2: 95 seats spread across 11 states and 1 union territory are voting today.
Incidents of violence in West Bengal headlined the second phase of polling in Lok Sabha elections that also witnessed reports of glitches in Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs in five states. West Bengal along with Assam and Manipur witnessed huge voter turnout in the second phase of polling with over 70 per cent electorates in all three states exercising their franchise till 5 pm. Voting in Bihar, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka has been largely weak. Voting has now picked up in Odisha where 64 per cent of the state's electorate have exercised their franchise till 5 pm.
Reports of EVM glitches in five states, violence in West Bengal marred the second phase of polling of the Lok Sabha elections. In Bengal, stones were thrown at the car of CPM candidate Mohammad Salim, as he was on his way to cast vote in Patagora of Raigunj constituency. Mr Salim is up against the Congress's sitting lawmaker Deepa Dasmunsi. Violence was also reported near a booth in the Girpar in the same constituency, where voters blocked the National Highway 34, claiming that unknown miscreants did not allow them to vote, pushing the police to use batons.
Tamil Nadu witnessed impressive turnout in the morning with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram exercise their franchise in the phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections.
Ninety five seats spread across 11 states and one union territory are voting in the second phase of lok sabha elections today. The second phase of the gigantic Lok Sabha elections will cover Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Union Territory Puducherry. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily, BJP lawmaker Hema Malini and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah are among the prominent candidates contesting in the phase 2 elections.
Polling are being held on 38 Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats of Tamil Nadu today, though voting in the Vellore seat has been cancelled following huge seizure of cash by Income Tax officials.
In Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of parliamentarians to the lok sabha, the BJP is up against the SP-BSP alliance in eight seats in western part of the state that go to polls in the second phase.
Meanwhile, campaigning is taking place for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress leader visited Gujarat today and address two rallies in Junagadh and Kachchh.
The voting time for Phase 2 elections were held from 7 AM to 6 PM. The Lok Sabha election result will be declared on May 23.
Here are the Highlights on Lok Sabha Elections Phase 2 voting:
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur's Nomination Evokes Opposition Outrage, Congress Keeps MumThe nomination of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur - an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case -- as the BJP candidate against Congress's Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal, has raised a storm of criticism in the opposition camp. While a Congress leader has gone to court asking the nomination be revoked, others have questioned how the 48-year-old could be well enough to campaign but too ill to stay in jail
Election Commission says 379 cases of poll code violations were reported.
Also, 1.01 lakh complaints came through the CVigil app from voters.
Overall polling percentage in second phase of 2019 elections: 66%
Final polling percentage for Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha Elections:
Chhattisgarh - 71%
Karnataka - 61.84%
Tamil Nadu - 72%
Puducherry - 78%
Jammu and Kashmir - 43.4%
West Bengal - 76.07%
Assam - 73.32%
Manipur - 74.34%
Bihar - 62.5%
Maharashtra - 62%
Odisha - 64%
Voter turnout till 5 PM for the second phase of Elections 2019
Assam - 73.3
Bihar - 56.2
Chhattisgarh - 68.7
Jammu & Kashmir - 43.3
Maharashtra - 57.2
Odisha - 64.0
Uttar Pradesh - 58.6
West Bengal - 76.1
Karnataka - 61.8
Tamil Nadu - 63.7
Manipur - 74.3
Puducherry - 73
Voter turnout till 3 PM for the second phase of Elections 2019
Assam - 60.4
Bihar - 45.8
Chhattisgarh - 59.7
Jammu & Kashmir - 38.5
Maharashtra - 46.6
Odisha - 53.0
Uttar Pradesh - 50.4
West Bengal - 65.4
Karnataka - 49.3
Tamil Nadu - 52.0
Manipur - 67.5
An elderly woman in Bengaluru shows her finger marked with indelible ink after casting vote during the second phase of the general elections.
Election officials and policemen assist wheelchair bound voters at a polling station, during the second phase of the general elections, in Bengaluru.
National Conference President and Srinagar parliamentary candidate Farooq Abdullah with his son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah leave after casting vote for the second phase of the general elections.
Actor and Bengaluru Central independent candidate Prakash Raj, shows his finger marked with indelible ink after casting vote for the second phase of the general elections
Congress's H Vasanthakumar is the richest candidate in phase 2
Congress leader H Vasanthakumar, who is contesting from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, is the richest candidate in the phase two of Lok Sabha elections, according to a report by the election watchdog - Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
In his poll affidavit, Mr Vasanthakumar, who owns a consumer durable retail chain, declared assets of Rs. 412 crore. He also declared a 45 per cent increase in income in the past five years.
The Congress leader, also a sitting member of legislative assembly, and his spouse are shareholders in Vasanth & Co Media Network Private Limited, which owns the Tamil satellite television channel ''Vasanth.''
The ADR list of candidates with highest assets in phase two of Lok Sabha elections has three Congress candidates on the top three spots.
Lok Sabha Polls: Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah, Chief Minister jump queue to vote
Earlier today, Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh jumped the queues to vote in the election to the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
Voters, some of who who had lined up even before the polling stations opened at 7 a.m., were not amused.
Some pointed out that many other politicians had stood patiently in queues along with the general people.
Ms Heptulla's name is registered in the Sagolband Assembly constituency under which the Raj Bhavan falls.
"I am very happy to exercise the franchise... I urge all voters to vote to choose their MPs who will champion their cause," she told the media later.
The Chief Minister and his wife voted in a polling booth under the Heingang Assembly constituency.
There are 9.28 lakh eligible voters and 11 candidates in this phase. Polling in the Outer Manipur constituency was held on April 11.
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Akhilesh Yadav files nomination from Azamgarh
Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav filed his nomination from eastern Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh seat this afternoon. The seat is currently held by Akhilesh Yadav's father and former SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. The seat was left vacant after Mulayam Yadav shifted back to his home base of Mainpuri, one of the two seats he won in 2014.
In 2014 , Azamgarh was on the only seat in eastern UP won by the Samajwadi Party. In the 2017 assembly poll, the BJP won a landslide but lost all five assembly seats that form part of the Azamgarh Lok sabha area. Akhilesh Yadav's opponent in the seat is Bhojpuri superstar Nirahua or Dinesh Lal Yadav, who is fighting his first election.
Constituencies voting in Phase 2 Lok Sabha Polls 2019
India votes | the 2019 roadmap
Seats Voting today
April 18, 2019
| State | Voting | Constituencies |
|---|
| Tamil Nadu | 38/39 | Arakkonam, Arani, Chennai Central, Chennai North, Chennai South, Chidambaram, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kallakurichi, Kancheepuram, Kanniyakumari, Karur, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Nilgiris, Perambalur, Pollachi, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Sivaganga , Sriperumbudur, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Theni, Thoothukkudi, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Tiruvannamalai, Viluppuram, Virudhunagar, Tiruvallur |
| Karnataka | 14/28 | Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikkballapur, Kolar, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural |
| Maharashtra | 10/48 | Akola, Amravat, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Buldhana, Hingoli, Osmanabad, Latur, Solapur |
| Uttar Pradesh | 8/80 | Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Fatehpur Sikri, Nagina, Amroha, Mathura, Agra |
| Bihar | 5/40 | Banka, Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Purnia |
| Odisha | 5/21 | Aska, Bargarh, Bolangir, Sundargarh, Kandhamal |
| Assam | 5/14 | Mangaldoi, Karimganj, Silchar, Nawgong, Autonomous District |
| Chhattisgarh | 3/11 | Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker |
| West Bengal | 3/42 | Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj |
| J&K | 2/6 | Srinagar, Udhampur |
| Manipur | 1/2 | Inner Manipur |
| Puducherry | 1/1 | Puducherry |
"Are our people fools to keep money": TTV Dhinakaran on cash haul from party office
After unaccounted cash worth Rs. 1.48 crore, allegedly meant to bribe voters, was seized by taxmen during raids on a party colleague of TTV Dhinakaran, the politician who broke away from Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK last year, the leader told NDTV that his party office is on the ground floor of the building, and not where the raid took place. "It was our candidate itself who complained to the Election Commission that people are receiving money from there," Mr Dhinakaran said. Income Tax officials told NDTV that 94 packets of cash, with ward numbers and number of voters, were found. Markings on the packets indicate the plan was to give each voter Rs 300 as bribe.
Phase 2 polling: Mandya constituency
Mandya in Karnataka is turning out to be one of the most heated contests in the second phase of polling that could go down to the wire.
Nikhil Gowda, the candidate for the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition, is up against Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late superstar Ambareesh.
She is officially supported by the BJP. And unofficially by several Congress leaders and party workers who were upset that the Congress allowed the JDS to contest the seat.
There is a clear split among voters in Mandya, known as "Sakkare Naadu" (land of sugarcane) which has been the hotbed of Cauvery politics, and both candidates are banking on their family's political legacy.
Timely intervention of security forces helped avert a fight between
Sumalatha Ambareesh and Nikhil Gowda.
Sumalatha Ambareesh is contesting as an Independent contesting in the high-profile Mandya Lok Sabha against Nikhil Gowda of the ruling Janata Dal (Secular).
Elections 2019: Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in UP
Meanwhile, campaigning is taking place for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district. The Congress leader will visit Gujarat later in the day and address two rallies in Junagadh and Kachchh. Budaun will go to polls in the third phase on April 23.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will file his nomination from Azamgarh. The seat is currently held by Akhilesh Yadav's father and former SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. For this election, Mulayam Yadav has shifted back to his home base of Mainpuri, one of the two seats he won in 2014.
Lok Sabha Elections: CPM candidate's vehicle attacked in West Bengal
CPM candidate from Raiganj Mohammad Salim's vehicle attacked in Islampur, West Bengal. CPM has alleged that TMC is behind the attack.
Alliance between AAP and Congress called off following disagreement over tie-up in Haryana and Delhi, reports news agency PTI quoting AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
BJP MP candidate from Amroha has alleged fake voting in his constituency.
"Fake voting has happened. Women in burkhas are not being checked for their identity. I heard a man wearing burkha was also caught," Kanwar Singh Tanwar said.
Karnataka BJP Vice President Tejaswini Ananth Kumar casts vote at a polling station in Sri Vasavi Vidya Niketan in Bengaluru's Basavanagudi.
Tejaswini Ananth Kumar is the wife of late parliamentarian Ananth Kumar and was appointed as the vice president of the party recently.
She was denied a party ticket for the national election from her husband's constituency Bengaluru South.
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi files her nomination from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency
Elections 2019: Mayawati Tweets BJP, PM Modi Nervous Like Congress Was In 2014
Mayawati, Dalit powerhouse and the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party as the second round of voting in the national election began this morning. She said the Prime Minister and the BJP are just as nervous as the Congress was five years ago before they were routed out by the BJP."
Elections 2019: Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha's wife files nomination
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha's wife and Samajwadi Party leader Poonam Sinha files her nomination from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow seat.
She is contesting as joint opposition (SP, BSP, RLD) candidate against senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh
Lok Sabha Polls 2019: 95-year-old dies outside polling booth in Odisha
A 95-year-old man died while waiting in a queue to vote in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.
The man was waiting for his turn at Kansamari booth in the Aska Lok Sabha seat when he suddenly collapsed, news agency IANS said quoting an official.
JD(S)-Congress may win 10-12 seats out of 14: HD Kumaraswamy
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said the Congress-JD(S) alliance is expected to win 10-12 seats out of 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka.
"Today I request all voters to go to the polling station and cast their vote, whatever decision you will take will form the future of the country. Please put your valuable vote and don''t miss it," Mr Kumaraswamy said after casting vote.
"Elections are crucial for protecting the interest of the farming community. Out of 14 Lok Sabha seats, the JDS-Congress candidates may achieve 10-12 seats in this election," he added.
Later, HD Kumaraswamy, while speaking to ANI, said, "Dynasty politics isn''t an important issue now, country''s problems are the main issue. Only because of dynasty politics and regional politics, this country developed in several states. We''re not bothered about criticism from BJP."
Phase 2 polling: Kanyakumari
In Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, the lone seat that the BJP won in 2014 in Tamil Nadu, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan is up against H Vasanthakumar of the Congress.
Mr Radhakrishnan is hoping for a victory in the southern-most constituency of the country amidst backlash among many voters on issues such as lack of jobs, poor liquidity, shortage of drinking water and the controversial Enayam container terminal project, reports said.
In 2014, Mr Radhakrishnan got 3.72 lakh votes while Mr Vasanthakumar was the runner up with 2.44 lakh votes
Voting was temporarily halted in Assam, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha ddue to technical glitches in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Elections 2019: Polling agent dies of heart attack during election duty in Chhattisgarh
A polling official deputed at polling booth in Chhattisgarh died after he suffered heart attack today. Sukal Ram Kange, resident of Jholi village in Bhanupratappur, was on duty in polling booth number 186.
Elections 2019: Congress and allies will form government at Centre," says Raj Babbar
"Congress and allies will defeat the BJP and form government. Our government will not have corruption. It is too soon to talk about who will be the prime minister now," Congress's Raj Babbar said.
Raj Babbar is up against BJP's Rajkumar Chahar and two-time BSP MLA BSP's Shreebhagwan Sharma in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur Sikri.
Around 17 lakh voters are eligible to cast their vote in Fatehpur Sikri. The region is dominated by Thakur and Brahmin voters, and Jats, Scheduled Castes, Kushwahas and Muslims are also in significant numbers.
In 2014, BJP's Babulal had polled over 4.26 lakh votes, 44 per cent of all votes cast that year. BSP's Seema Upadhyay had come second with 2.53 lakh votes, while Samajwadi Party's Rani Pakshalika Singh had got over 2.13 lakh votes. Mr Babbar had moved to Ghaziabad in 2014 general election and lost to BJP's V K Singh.
2019 Indian General Elections: 8 seats in UP in phase 2 polling
Eight seats in western Uttar Pradesh - Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Fatehpur Sikri, Nagina, Amroha, Mathura and Agra - are voting in the second phase.
Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the SP-BSP-RLD alliance are contesting all the eight seats.
While the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded candidates in six seats, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting from one seat each.
The Congress is also in the fray in all eight constituencies.
There are 85 candidates in contention including actor-politicians Hema Malini of BJP (Mathura) and state Congress chief Raj Babbar (Fatehpur Sikri). Uttar Pradesh Minister S.P. Singh Baghel is contesting from Agra.
A total of 1,40,76,635 people in these constituencies are eligible to vote.
Official suspended by Election Commission for inspecting PM Modi's convoy: Congress
Vehicles that are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy are not exempted from inspection, the Congress said today, questioning the suspension of a officer by the poll body.
An officer posted as General Observer in Odisha was yesterday suspended by the Election Commission for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter in Sambalpur on Tuesday, in violation of norms.
Election 2019: TTV Dhinakaran casts vote in Tamil Nadu
TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam or AMMK is contesting 38 of the 39 seats in the state and has already announced its candidates for both Lok Sabha elections and state assembly by-polls. His party has been given "gift pack" as a common symbol for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Assembly by-polls in Tamil Nadu.
On Wednesday, unaccounted cash worth Rs. 1.48 crore was seized during raids on a party colleague of TTV Dhinakaran. Mr Dhinakaran broke away from the ruling AIADMK last year to form his own party, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.
Phase 2 polling: Fatehpur Sikri
Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur Sikri is witnessing a triangular battle between Congress's Raj Babbar, BJP's Rajkumar Chahar and BSP's Shreebhagwan Sharma, who is a two-time MLA from Debai assembly constituency of Bulandshahr.
Farmers crisis have dominated the issues during the campaigning in the constituency.
The Congress has pinned its hopes on its state chief Raj Babbar, shifting the actor-turned-politician from Moradabad after he was said to be not keen on contesting from the seat. He had unsuccessfully contested from Fatehpur Sikri in 2009. The BJP has fielded a Jat leader and farmer's son, Rajkumar Chahar, denying ticket to its sitting MP Chaudhary Babulal and the BSP has picked in Shreebhagwan Sharma, also known as Guddu Pandit.
Around 17 lakh voters are eligible to cast their vote in Fatehpur Sikri. The region is dominated by Thakur and Brahmin voters, and Jats, Scheduled Castes, Kushwahas and Muslims are also in significant numbers.
In 2014, BJP's Babulal had polled over 4.26 lakh votes, 44 per cent of all votes cast that year. BSP's Seema Upadhyay had come second with 2.53 lakh votes, while Samajwadi Party's Rani Pakshalika Singh had got over 2.13 lakh votes. Mr Babbar had moved to Ghaziabad in 2014 general election and lost to BJP's V K Singh.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019: 13.48 voter turnout till 9 am in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has recorded 13.48 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, the highest among the 11 states that are voting in the phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections. Assam witnessed 11.6 per cent turnout till 9 am. Only 9.2 per cent of the voters have exercised their franchise in Bihar.
PM Modi to campaign for Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala.
Newly-married couple reaches a polling booth in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, straight after the wedding ceremony, to cast vote for Phase 2 of general elections.
Phase 2 polling: Brisk voting in in Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur
Large number of voters were seen in Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur as balloting was on in the Srinagar and Udhampur Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
There was enthusiastic voting in the Udhampur constituency in both urban and rural segments including Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, news agency IANS reported.
A man with special needs seen at a polling booth in Chennai.
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth was among the early voters to casts vote in Chennai. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan were also seen at polling booths in the city.
Lok Sabha Elections: DMK leader Kanimozhi votes in central Chennai
DMK leader Kanimozhi has voted in central Chennai. Kanimozhi is up against Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan.
"Thoothukudi is my choice because I have continuously worked there and know the situation there," Kanimozhi said.
Kanimozhi is currently a Rajya Sabha MP.
Phase 2 polling: Bengaluru North constituency
The Congress has fielded state minister Krishna Byre Gowda against sitting MP Sadananda Gowda in Karnataka's Bengaluru North constituency.
Sadananda Gowda believes that the appeal of Prime Minister Modi will help him get re-elected from the seat. He told NDTV on the campaign trail: "I am more confident than in 2014. Modi's image has gone up like anything. And his performance has been accepted by the people of the constituency."
The Bengaluru North seat meant to be contested by the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) under the seat sharing arrangement with coalition partner, the Congress. The seat was handed back to Congress after former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who was initially thought to be fielded from the seat, chose Tumakuru.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019: Here are the top candidates for Lok Sabha Phase 2 elections:In Assam, 50 candidates are contesting in five constituencies. Of these three candidates are women. The prominent candidates are BJP's Karipanath Mallah, who is Deputy Speaker in Assam Vidhan Sabha; Congress' Sushmita Dev, who is All India Congress Women President and sitting lawmaker and AIUDF's Radheshyam Biswas.
In Bihar, 69 candidates are contesting in five constituencies. Of these three candidates are women. The heavyweights include RJD's Shailesh Kumar who is sitting lawmaker and RJD Youth Wing President, JDU's Santosh Kumar who is sitting lawmaker from Purnia and Congress' Dr Mohammad Javed.
In Chhattisgarh, 36 candidates are contesting in three constituencies. Of these four candidates are women. The prominent faces are BJP's Chunnilal Sahu,a former legislator and Congress' Dhanendra Sahu who is a five-time legislator and former state party president.
In Jammu and Kashmir, 24 candidates are contesting in two constituencies. Of these one of the candidates is a woman. The heavyweights include BJP's Jitendra Singh and Congress' Vikramdaitya Singh, both contesting from Udhampur.
In Karnataka, 241 candidates are contesting in 14 constituencies. Of these 15 candidates are women. The prominent faces are Union Minister Sadananda Gowda, Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda from the Janata Dal (Secular).
In Maharashtra, 179 candidates are contesting in ten constituencies. Of these 12 candidates are women. The prominent candidates are former Maharashtra Chief minister Ashok Chavan, NCP's state vice president Rajendra Shingne and BJP's Pritam Munde who is sitting lawmaker and daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde.
In Manipur, 11 candidates are contesting in one constituency. There are no women candidates in the state in phase 2 of Lok Sabha polls. The heavyweights include BJP's Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Congress' O Nabakishore Singh.
In Odisha, 35 candidates are contesting in five constituencies. There are five women candidates in the state in phase 2 of elections 2019. The prominent faces include Union Minister Jual Oram from BJP, Congress' Samarendra Mishra and BJD's Sunita Biswal, who is daughter of former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal.
In Tamil Nadu, 822 candidates are contesting in 38 constituencies. There are 63 women candidates in this constituency. The prominent candidates are DMK's Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran. Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Congress' Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram.
In Uttar Pradesh, 85 candidates are contesting in eight constituencies. There are 10 women candidates in this constituency. The prominent candidates are BJP lawmaker Hema Malini and Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar.
In Bengal, 41 candidates are contesting in three constituencies. There are 3 women candidates in this constituency. The heavyweights include BJP's Raju Bista who is an entrepreneur and social worker, Congress' Deepa Das Mumshi who is wife of former Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi and CPM's Mohammed Salim who is two-time lawmaker.
In Puducherry, 18 candidates are contesting in one constituency. There are two women candidates in this constituency. The prominent candidates are Congress' Ve Vaithilingam, who is former chief minister and AINRC's Narayanasamy Kesavan, a former legislator.
Actor and founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) Kamal Haasan with daughter Shruti Haasan at a polling booth in Chennai's Alwarpet.
Kamal Haasan's party is making its debuts in the Lok Sabha Elections.
A voter-verifiable paper audit trail or VVPAT faced some problem at a polling booth in Assam. Sahadat Ali, Sector Officer said that the VVPAT at polling station number 200 in Silchar is working fine now. "The VVPAT is fine now, people can now cast their votes," he said.
Lok Sabha Election 2019: "Wanted to vote for someone who will work for my constituency," says first-time Mathura voter
"I was very excited to vote for the first time. I wanted to vote for someone who will work for my constituency," says first time voter in Mathura.
Bollywood's "Dream Girl" Hema Malini is the sitting MP from Mathura. She is up against Kunwar Narendra Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Mahesh Pathak of the Congress.
In 2014, Hema Malini had defeated RLD's sitting MP Jayant Chaudhary by a huge margin of 3,30,743 votes.
Voters wait for their turn at a polling booth in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Union Minister Sadananda Gowda, Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda from the Janata Dal (Secular) are among the 241 candidates contesting in 14 constituencies in the state. Of these 15 candidates are women.
Phase 2 polling: Mathura seat
Hema Malini is facing a tough fight in the temple-town constituency of Mathura. The Bollywood's "Dream Girl" is up against Kunwar Narendra Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Mahesh Pathak of the Congress.
In 2014, Hema Malini had defeated RLD's sitting MP Jayant Chaudhary by a huge margin of 3,30,743 votes.
The 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal has pitched the fight as an "outsider vs Brijwasi" battle. The BJP MP has said she has a "divine connection" with Mathura.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019: "Election not referendum on me, but about removing fascist government," says Karti Chidambaram
Nalini Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram and his wife Srinidi Rangarajan cast vote at a polling station in Karaikudi, Sivaganga.
Shortly after casting vote, he said: "Our alliance will have handsome victory. We are privileged to live in a democracy. Its not something that every nation has. We should exercise our franchise. Election is not referendum on me. Its about removing fascist government".
Karti Chidambaram is up against BJP national secretary and party candidate H Raja and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) candidate 'Kavignar' Snehan.
Karti Chidambaram, who is facing trial in corruption cases, including the INX media money-laundering case, had unsuccessfully contested the Sivaganga seat in 2014 general election. The constituency was earlier represented by his father, P Chidambaram seven times but AIADMK swept the constituency in 2014.
Former union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde casts vote at a polling station in Solapur. Mr Shinde, 77, is also contesting from Solapur in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Voters wait for their turn at a polling booth. Nearly 15.8 crore voters across 13 states and a union territory are exercising their franchise today.
Lok Sabha Election 2019: P Chidambaram casts vote in Tamil Nadu
Senior Congress leader and former union minister P Chidambaram also voted early this morning. His son, Karti Chidambaram, is contesting in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency. Karti Chidambaram is up against BJP national secretary and party candidate H Raja and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) candidate 'Kavignar' Snehan.
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth votes in Chennai. This is the first election in the state after the death of AIADMK's J Jayalalithaa and DMK's M Karunanidhi
Election 2019: 95 seats across 11 states to vote today
38 Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu are voting today. Besides Tamil Nadu, polling will be held in 14 seats in Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra, eight in western Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, two in Jammu and Kashmir and one seat each in Manipur and Puducherry are also part of phase 2 of Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to youngsters to head to the polling booths and vote.
Lok Sabha Election 2019: Vellore and East Tripura seat not part of phase 2 polling
Polling in Tamil Nadu's Vellore Lok Sabha constituency and East Tripura seat will not take place along with the 95 seats that will vote in Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections.
Polling in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency was cancelled after Election Commission seized huge cash haul of Rs. 11.5 crore there. Polling in East Tripura seat was postponed from April 18 to April 23 after the poll body found that law and order situation there was not conducive for holding free and fair polls.
Lok Sabha Elections: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily, BJP lawmaker Hema Malini and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah are among the prominent candidates contesting in the phase 2 elections.
Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat today. The Congress chief will address a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district. He will visit Gujarat later in the day and address two rallies in Junagadh and Kachchh.
Lok Sabha Election 2019: Four union ministers and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda are contesting in this phase.
General Elections 2019: The second phase of the gigantic Lok Sabha elections will cover Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Union Territory Puducherry.
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