Phase 1 elections 2019: Eight seats of western Uttar Pradesh have gone to polls today.
Voting started for 91 constituencies in the first phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are crucial among 20 states and Union Territories going to polls today.
Eight seats of western Uttar Pradesh have gone to polls today with the BJP facing a tough contest in all the seats due to the alliance of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal. The Congress is likely to cut into votes of both the BJP and the combined alliance.
In Bengal, 18 candidates are contesting from two constituencies and the main parties are the BJP, Congress, TMC and Left (CPM, RSP, AIFB).
Andhra Pradesh, still smarting over the bifurcation of Telangana, is set for what appears to be a tight contest for its 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the first phase. In Bihar, four Lok Sabha seats will see polling. LJP leader Chirag Paswan is contesting from Jamui reserved seat. He is the sitting MP and is locked in a virtual straight contest with Bhudeo Chaudhary of RLSP.
The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Here are the Highlights from Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Phase 1 Polling in Key States
Election Commission says, There have been some incidents where EVMs have been damaged. 6 incidents in Andhra Pradesh, 5 in Arunachal Pradesh, 1 in Bihar, 2 in Manipur and 1 in West Bengal.
Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha addressing press conference says:
- Voting conducted across 1.7 lakh polling stations across country
- Election conducted in peaceful manner
- Would like to thank millions of voters who came to vote despite difficulties, especially differently-abled and senior citizens
- Thank state machinery for hard work
Phase 1 Turn Out Till 5 PM
Surendra Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha says, "We have been successful in conducting the first phase of polls in a free, fair and peaceful manner. There has been no untoward incident whatsoever reported in the polls. The failure rate of EVMs has been under 1%."
Voter Turnout Till 5 pm
Bihar: 50.26%
Telangana: 60.57%
Uttar Pradesh: 59.77%
Chandrababu Naidu Appeals People To Cast Vote, Says Election Commission Failed
Today I cast my vote. All of you have the responsibility to vote. Most of you went to polling booths this morning. However some of you couldn't vote due to EVM problems. You faced inconvenience.
Election commission which acted actively in transferring the officials; couldn't maintain EVMs & VVPATs. They've failed. You had to face troubles in the scorching heat. I'm very disappointed & feeling bad for it. However I once again appeal to all of you to cast your vote.
In 6 booths of Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district there has been no voting due to threat by naxals, says Chief Electoral Officer in Odisha, reported news agency ANI.
Man carries his elderly father in his arms to the polling station in the area to let him cast his vote for the state assembly elections in Kakinada, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
Elderly women cast their votes at a polling station in Coochbehar, West Bengal.
Voter turnout till 3 PM
West Bengal: 69.9 per cent
Uttar Pradesh: 50.9 per cent
Bihar: 41.7 per cent
Telangana: 49.0 per cent
Voter turnout till 1pm:
West Bengal: 55.9 per cent
Uttar Pradesh: 38.8 per cent
Bihar: 33.5 per cent
Security personnel fired shots in air after some people tried to cast vote without voter IDs at a polling station in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, reports news agency ANI.
Clashes erupt in Guntur at a polling booth in Sattenapalli, Andhra Pradesh.
The four Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar, where polling is being held in the first of the seven-phase general elections, registered 24.57 per cent voter turnout till noon, an election official says.
34.60% voting recorded in Aurangabad, 33% in Gaya, 37% in Nawada and 29% in Jamui, till 1 pm.
BR Tiwari, Additional Chief Election Officer, says: "If a woman is in a veil, there are women officials who verify their identity and only then allow them to vote. No such incident has come to our notice."
His remarks came after Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr Sanjiv Balyan said: "Faces of women in burkhas (veils) are not being checked and I allege that fake voting is being done. If not looked into, I will demand a re-poll."
A total of 33.5 per cent voter turnout recorded in Bihar till 1pm.
One TDP worker killed and more than 10 others, including Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasad Rao, injured after clashes between TDP and YSRCP at various places.
Siddha Bhaskar Reddy, a worker of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was killed when he was attacked allegedly by the activists of opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Tadipatri Assembly constituency in Anantapur district, the police have said, according to news agency IANS.
Cops on election duty in Uttar Pradesh's Noida served meals in packets labelled 'Namo Foods', following which officials clarified that those were procured from Namo Food Shop and not from any political party.
The food packets, brought in the boot of a hatchback car, were distributed around 9.30 am among personnel deployed in Sector 15A.
"Misinformation is being spread that some policemen have been distributed food from a political party. This is absolutely wrong. At local level, some food packets were procured from Namo Food Shop and not from any political party," Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna says.
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma casts his vote at a polling station in Sector 15A of Noida, says the BJP is seeking votes in the Lok Sabha elections in the name of nationalism and not in the name of the army.
"Who says Modiji is seeking votes in the name of army? Not at all. We are seeking votes in the name of nationalism. For us, the nation comes first. For the others, it is the family, the dynasty that comes first."
A total of 23.2 per cent voter turnout recorded in Andhra Pradesh till 11am.
Congress's Saharanpur Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood speaking with NDTV says: "I'm 100% confident of winning this time." Addressing Mayawati's remark that Muslims should vote for Mahagathbandhan, Mr Masood said, "Muslims do not trust Mayawati because she can ditch us anytime, get our votes and join PM Modi like Nitish Kumar."
On the first day of voting for the national election today, Apollo hospital's Shobana Kamineni said she felt cheated after she was told at a polling booth in Hyderabad that her vote had been deleted. "This is the worst day for me as an Indian citizen," said the top executive, who had returned to India from a foreign tour just to vote.
"I came back because I wanted to exercise my franchise. I came to the booth and I was told that my vote is deleted," said Shobana Kamineni, the daughter of Apollo hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy and the sister-in-law of a Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Chevella.
Clash broke out between YSRCP and TDP workers in Puthalapattu Constituency in Bandarlapalli, Andhra Pradesh, reports news agency ANI.
Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan reaches the polling booth set up at Chaitanya School in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, reprots news agency ANI.
Voter turnout in West Bengal:
37.8 per cent in Cooch Behar and 43.2 per cent in Alipurduar in the last four hours.
Voter turnout till 11 am in Uttar Pradesh:
Saharanpur: 25.60%
Kairana: 24%
Muzaffarnagar: 26.40%
Meerut: 21.80%
Bijnor: 25.10%
Baghpat: 25%
Ghaziabad : 22.40%
Gautam Budh Nagar: 24.24%
Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Ghaziabad VK Singh casts his vote.
"Ramlala had surfaced (in Babri mosque) when he decided to. So his temple will be built when he wishes to have a temple," he says.
Voting process in a number of polling stations in Cooch Behar was temporarily disrupted for sometime as EVM machines stopped working., reports news agency IANS.
Trinamool Congress district chief Rabindranath Ghosh alleged a conspiracy and said he had complained to the District Magistrate. "How can so many EVMs go bad? We smell a conspiracy. I have tried to complain to the Election Commission but they are not reachable. So I have informed the District Magistrate," Mr Ghosh said.
A television grab showed a couple of injured Trinamool booth level workers in Cooch Behar. The ruling party blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the violence.
Clashes between workers of Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress at various places in Andhra Pradesh, reports news agency PTI.
A mandal parishad member of YSRC was injured when TDP workers allegedly attacked him at a polling station in Eluru city.
In Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, tension prevailed in Ponnathota village as YSRC and TDP workers threw stones at each other.
In Narsaraopet constituency in Guntur district, YSRC leaders alleged TDP men ransacked a polling station in Yelamanda village and damaged the furniture.
About 9.0 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9:00am in Andhra Pradesh.
According to news agency ANI, Chandrababu Naidu in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner says: "Likely that many voters who returned may not come back for voting even if polling is resumed after replacement or repair of existing EVMs. Therefore, repolling needed in all polling stations where polling had not commenced upto 9:30am."
About 20.3 per cent voter turnout in Bihar till 11:00am.
An estimated 13.73 per cent voting has been recorded in the first three hours of polling that began amid tight security in four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the first leg of the seven-phased election.
Few incidents of EVM malfunctioning were reported in some booths under Nawada Lok Sabha constituency, and a cane bomb was found at a polling station in Gaya district before voting began at 7 am, according to news agency PTI.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati have urged people to vote to bring about major changes in politics.
"Today is the first-phase of 'big change' (mahaparivartan) process," Mr Yadav has tweeted. "Those who want healthy democracy for themselves and their families, want to empower Constitution and protect harmony should come out of their houses and use their right to make this day historic."
Mayawati has issued a similar appeal.
A total of 11.4 per cent voter turnout recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 9:00am.
About 7.6 per cent voter turnout recorded in Bihar till 9:00am.
Voter turnout till 9 am in Uttar Pradesh:
Saharanpur: 8%
Kairana: 10%
Muzaffarnagar: 10%
Meerut: 10%
Bijnor: 11%
Baghpat: 11%
Ghaziabad : 12%
Gautam Budh Nagar: 10%
About 18.1 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal till 9:00am in the first phase.
Watch: Jana Sena candidate Madhusudhan Gupta smashes an EVM in Andhra Pradesh
According to officials of the state Election Commission in Bihar, more than 41,000 security personnel have been deployed in the Maoist affected Gaya, Aurangabad, Jamui and Nawada parliamentary constituencies.
At many places in Andhra Pradesh, electronic voting machines (EVMs) had glitches resulting in some delay in polling, an official says, according to news agency PTI.
State Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi casts his vote in Tadepalli and says there are complaints about technical glitches in EVMs in about 50 places. Technical teams are on the job to rectify the defects and enable polling, he adds.
Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections: Key Contestants
Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan is contesting in two assembly constituencies -- Bhimavaram and Gajuwaka. State Congress chief Raghuveera Reddy is contesting from Kalyandurg assembly constituency. Chandrababu Naidu's brother-in-law and actor N Balakrishna is seeking re-election from Hindupur assembly constituency as the TDP candidate.
Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr Sanjiv Balyan tells news agency ANI: "Faces of women in burkhas (veils) are not being checked and I allege that fake voting is being done. If not looked into, I will demand a re-poll."
About 5.6 per cent voter turnout recorded in Bihar till 8:00am.
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister and TDP's Nara Lokesh in Amaravati tells news agency ANI: "It will be a decisive win in Mangalgiri (assembly seat) and also across the state. I am here to convince my electorate that I am a meaningful and a worthy candidate, and I think I have done that."
YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy Casts His Vote
"I am sure people are looking for a change... Vote for change, vote without fear," says YSR Congress leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy before casting his vote in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Reddy, 46, had earlier told NDTV that he prefers a hung parliament instead of the BJP or the Congress getting a clear majority at the centre. However, he said he is open to partnering with any leader or coalition at the centre as long as they give special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Reddy is in fact hoping that along with K Chandrashekar Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen or AIMIM, they will together bargain for special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
A Jana Sena Party candidate in Andhra Pradesh has been arrested after he damaged an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Madhusudan Gupta threw the EVM on the floor at a polling station in the Guntakal Assembly constituency of Anantapur district.
Mr Gupta, who had come to cast his vote at the polling station in Gutti, was angry with the polling staff over names of Assembly and Parliament constituencies not being displayed properly.
TDP MP candidate from Vijaywada, Kesineni Srinivas casts his vote at a polling booth in St Joseph Girl's High School, Gunadala, Vijaywada, reports news agency ANI.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family cast their vote for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Amravati.
"It is the duty of every citizen to participate in the democratic process by casting his vote," says Mr Naidu.
FOUR KEY STATES
Uttar Pradesh
Constituencies: 96 candidates are contesting in 8 constituencies -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Importance: The Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav-Ajit Singh combine is taking on the BJP in the state. The Congress is going it alone, setting up three-cornered contests on most seats.
Bihar
Constituencies: 44 candidates are contesting in four constituencies -- Gaya, Aurangabad, Jamui and Nawada.
Importance: The NDA alliance comprising the BJP, the JD(U) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will be in a fight with the grand alliance which includes the Congress, Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal, Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and the Hindustan Awam Morcha. In Jamui, young Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan, who made a successful debut five years ago is up against RLSP's Bhudeo Chaudhary, who won it in the first general elections in 2009 that followed the creation of the constituency in 2008.
West Bengal
Constituencies: 18 candidates are contesting in 2 constituencies -- Cooch Behar (SC) and Alipurduar (ST).
Importance: The principal players in West Bengal's political playground are chief minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Indian National Congress. Bengal will see voting during all the 7 phases of elections.
Andhra Pradesh
Constituencies: Polling for all 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly seats will be held simultaneously. There are 2,118 candidates for the state polls and 319 for the Lok Sabha elections.
Importance: This is the first general election in the state after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Strong anti-incumbency, caste and corruption are the major factors that could determine the outcome of the elections to Lok Sabha and the state assembly as over 3.93 crore voters get to exercise their franchise. TDP chief and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be seeking election from Kuppam, while his son Nara Lokesh is making his electoral debut from Mangalagiri. YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy, an aspirant for the chief minister's post, is fighting from his family's pocketborough Pulivendula.
Flower petals showered and drums played to welcome voters at polling booth in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
Voting has also started in Uttar Pradesh, the state which sends the maximum number of lawmakers to Lok Sabha. Voting is being held in eight of 80 seats. The constituencies include Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar.
The Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav-Ajit Singh combine is taking on the BJP in the state. The Congress is going it alone, setting up three-cornered contests on most seats.
Visuals from a polling booth in Vishapkhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, as voting begins. Polling has started in Andhra Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections and Legislative Assembly elections for the single phase. The state has 175 Assembly constituencies and 25 Lok Sabha seats. This is the first general election in the state after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Polling for all 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly seats will be held simultaneously. There are 2,118 candidates for the state polls and 319 for the Lok Sabha elections.
People wait outside a polling booth in West Bengal's Cooch Behar, ahead of the voting for Lok Sabha Elections 2019, reports news agency ANI.
In West Bengal, vote for Cooch Behar (SC) and Alipurduar (ST) constituencies will start at 7 am and continue till 6pm.