New Delhi: The Election Commission, in a press briefing, said Phase 1 of Lok Sabha elections today were largely peaceful barring a few stray incidents. The Deputy Election Commissioner also spoke about the various complaints registered in Phase 1.
"570 poll complaints have been received and 547 decided," he said. He also said that 15 EVMs have been damaged and legal action is being taken.
On the NaMo TV row, he said they got a report from Chief Electoral Officer Delhi and a report from I and B said it is not a channel. EC is examining the legal issues, he said.
The Congress has written a letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh alleging breach in party president Rahul Gandhi's security during his visit to Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to file his nominations this week. Three senior Congress leaders have asked the centre to ensure that the protocol relating the Congress president's security detail is strictly followed. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today filed her nomination from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. But before filing the nomination, the Congress leader issued a message to the BJP. "Don't forget 2004," said the former Congress President before filing her nomination from Rae Bareli, a seat she has been representing since 2004.
Sporadic incidents of violence have been reported across Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. A TDP worker died in the clashes that erupted in Andhra Pradesh which is holding assembly polls simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. The state also witnessed widespread malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines, prompting Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to write a letter to the Election Commission, requesting an extension of polling time in the state to compensate for the time lost due to the issue.
An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was reported in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district as voting was underway in the Maoist-affected district. No one was injured in the incident, reports said. A similar blast was triggered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency in the early hours this morning, officials said. The blast was triggered around 4:15 am when a team of security men was escorting polling personnel to their booth, they said.
The first phase covers all the Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh (25), Telangana (17), Uttarakhand (5), two seats each of Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya and one seat each of Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar as well as Lakshadweep. Coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections are assembly elections in four states today - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha. While polling for the assembly elections in Andhra, Arunachal and Sikkim will complete in a single-phase today, voting for the Odisha Assembly will be held in four phases - first being today - coinciding with the four phases of the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Apart from the eight seats in Uttar Pradesh - which votes in all the phases of the seven-phased election, four out of 40 seats of Bihar and two out of 42 seats of West Bengal will also be covered in the phase.
Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting will be done on May 23.
Here are the live updates of 1st Phase Lok Sabha Elections 2019:
Apr 12, 2019 00:15 (IST)
Polling continued in some polling centres in Andhra Pradesh past 10 pm on Thursday as voters stood in long queues waiting for their turn to exercise their franchise.
Without food and water for three to four hours, men and women were seen standing in queues at the polling centres in Guntur, Krishna and other districts.
The polling process was delayed due to malfunctioning of EVMs and violence.
Though the polling ended at 6 p.m., officials said those standing in queues would be allowed to vote.
Apr 11, 2019 23:29 (IST)
Delegations of Left parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party approached the Election Commission on Thursday with complaints of violence and demanding repolling.
A Left Front delegation led by Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretariat member Rabin Deb called on Chief Electoral Officer, Aariz Aftab, after Cooch Behar's All India Forward Bloc candidate Gobinda Rai was attacked in Mathabhanga's booth number 238, and his car vandalised. The LF leaders demanded punishment for the culprits.
"We also demand that wherever the poll was conducted with state armed police in Cooch Behar, we demand a repoll. There were as many as 170 booths where there were disturbances," AIFB state committee Secretary Naren Chatterjee told reporters.
Apr 11, 2019 19:29 (IST)
Five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam that polled saw a high voter turnout despite growing protests against the BJP-led government's move to pass the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
The five constituencies that went to polls on Thursday -- Tezpur, Kaliabar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur -- are also known as the tea belt of Assam since majority of the tea gardens in the state fall under these five constituencies.
Overall voting percentage in these constituencies stood at about 59.46 per cent at 3.00 p.m, with Tezpur witnessing over 63 per cent polling, Kaliabar 60 per cent, Jorhat 62 per cent, Dibrugarh 59.29 per cent and Lakhimpur recording 53 per cent voting.
Apr 11, 2019 19:10 (IST)
First phase polling ends in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh
Polling for seven Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and the Naxal-affected Bastar constituency in neighbouring Chhattisgarh came to an end at 5 pm Thursday.
As much as 46.13 per cent turn-out had been registered in seven seats in Maharashtra's Vidarbha by 3 pm, as per the state election officials.
The prominent candidates in these constituencies include Union ministers and senior BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari, who is contesting from Nagpur, and Hansraj Ahir, who is the nominee from Chandrapur seat.
More than 45 per cent voters exercised their franchise in Bastar by 3 pm.
Early in the morning, Naxals detonated an IED (improvised explosive device) in Narayanpur district, which comes under Bastar constituency.
There were no casualties.
Naxals also triggered an IED blast near a polling booth in Maharashtra's Gadchroli district Thursday while voting was underway. There were no casualties, a police official said.
Apr 11, 2019 19:07 (IST)
Polling in Jammu and Baramulla Lok seats of Jammu and Kashmir ended amid stray incidents of violence, some incidents of EVM malfunction and alleged misconduct by a security man at a polling station.
Poll officials said the final voting figures in both the constituencies were being compiled and would be announced by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Shailendra Kumar at a press conference in Jammu later.
Till 3 pm, over 46 per cent voting was recorded in both the constituencies.
Apr 11, 2019 19:05 (IST)
An estimated 69 per cent of the voters in Sikkim have exercised their franchise till 5 pm on Thursday to elect a 32-member state Legislative Assembly as well as the lone Lok Sabha member from the state, an official said.
The polling percentage will go up as large number of voters who have queued up at polling stations till 5 pm would be allowed to vote, the CEO said.
There was no report of any violence from anywhere in the state during the polling of the state Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat which was held simultaneously, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ravindra Telang told PTI.
Apr 11, 2019 18:50 (IST)
As many as 7,780 polling booths are categorised as sensitive in the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu, said a senior Election Commission Official.
Speaking to reporters, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said these booths will be closely monitored and additional security forces deployed there.
According to Sahoo, about 5.99 crore people are eligible to vote in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
He said the election flying squads and static surveillance teams have seized unaccounted cash of about Rs 127 crore from across the state.
Elections for Lok Sabha and for 18 vacant assembly constituencies will be held on April 18 in Tamil Nadu.
Apr 11, 2019 18:28 (IST)
Naxal killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh on polling day
A Naxal was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, police said.
The encounter took place in the restive Orchha area of the district when ultras attacked a team of security forces guarding a helipad, Director General (Anti-Naxal Operation) Girdhari Nayak told PTI.
Firing on security forces by the rebels triggered the gunbattle, which left one Naxal dead, he said.
Apr 11, 2019 18:27 (IST)
Polling ends in 16 Lok Sabha constituencies of Telangana
Barring Nizamabad, polling for the Lok Sabha seats in Telangana ended peacefully at 5 pm.
About 49 per cent voter turnout was recorded in all 17 constituencies till 5 pm. The final polling percentage will be known late in the evening.
Polling in 13 Maoist-affected Assembly segments under five Lok Sabha constituencies ended at 4 pm.
In Nizamabad, a record number of EVMs are being used to accommodate 185 candidates, and the polling will continue till 6 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar said those standing in queues would be allowed to vote, irrespective of the time this would take.
Nearly 2.97 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes to decide the fortunes of 443 candidates including 25 women.
The election authorities had set up 46,120 polling stations and deployed three lakh personnel including about a lakh security men as part of the elaborate arrangements.
Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K. Kavitha, senior TRS leader Vinod Kumar, state Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary (Congress) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi were among the prominent candidates.
The counting of votes will be taken up on May 23 after completion of the polling process across the state.
In 2014, the TRS had bagged 11 seats while the Congress secured two seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), AIMIM and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had won a seat each.
The TDP and the YSRCP did not contest the elections in Telangana this time.
Apr 11, 2019 18:20 (IST)
Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha says in 6 booths of Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district there has been no voting due to threat by Naxals.
