{"id":5032,"date":"2024-04-19T16:40:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/?p=5032"},"modified":"2024-04-19T16:40:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:40:21","slug":"2024-lok-sabha-polls-begin-on-april-19-2024-16-crore-voters-on-the-rolls-in-102-seats-in-first-phase-the-hindu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/?p=5032","title":{"rendered":"2024 Lok Sabha polls begin on April 19, 2024; 16 crore voters on the rolls in 102 seats in first phase &#8211; The Hindu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To enjoy additional benefits<br \/>CONNECT WITH US<br \/> April 18, 2024 10:57 pm | Updated April 19, 2024 02:42 am IST &#8211; New Delhi <br \/> Polling officials, carrying EVMs and other election material, cross the Brahmaputra by a country boat at Baghmora village in Majuli district of Assam on April 18, 2024. | Photo Credit: The Hindu <br \/>Over 16 crore voters would exercise their franchise on April 19 as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/general-elections-2024\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 general election<\/a>, the world\u2019s biggest festival of democracy, kicks off with 102 Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls in the first phase. <br \/>While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is looking for a third-straight term in office, after successes in the 2014 and 2019 elections, the Opposition Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is hoping to stop the ruling alliance in its tracks. <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/lok-sabha-elections-2024-how-to-check-your-polling-booth-dos-and-donts-on-polling-day\/article68078705.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General elections 2024 Phase 1 | How to check your polling booth, do\u2019s and dont\u2019s on polling day<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/voting-rights-in-india-lok-sabha-election-all-you-need-to-know\/article68078980.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lok Sabha elections 2024: Know your voting rights<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/lok-sabha-polls-12-documents-that-voters-can-produce-at-polling-booths\/article68079042.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lok Sabha polls | 12 documents that voters can produce at polling booths<\/a><br \/>The BJP is seeking a vote for a <i>Viksit Bharat<\/i> (Developed India) by highlighting its 10-year rule under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the campaign of the Congress &#8211; the largest party in the INDIA bloc &#8211; has revolved around issues of unemployment, inflation, misuse of Central agencies and threats to the democratic and secular fabric of the country.<br \/>The first phase would also see the highest number of constituencies going to polls. <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/tamil-nadu\/tn-gets-ready-to-vote-on-april-19-polling-from-7-am-to-6-pm\/article68079139.ece\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">All 39 Lok Sabha seats of Tamil Nadu<\/a> and five seats of Uttarakhand, 12 seats in Rajasthan, eight crucial seats in western Uttar Pradesh, and six seats in Madhya Pradesh are among those going to polls on April 19. Voting will also be held in ethnic violence-hit Manipur and Naxal-affected Bastar in Chattisgarh. In Manipur\u2019s Inner Manipur seat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/544-instead-of-543-why-the-election-schedule-shows-one-additional-constituency\/article67958009.ece\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">polling will be held on April 19 as well as on April 26<\/a>, during the second phase.<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/infographics\/2024-04-17\/previous-lok-sabha-elections-since-independence\/index.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">How India voted: A retrospective from 1952 to 2024<\/a><\/strong><br \/>Polling would also be held in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/arunachal-pradesh-assembly\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">92 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/sikkim-assembly\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Sikkim<\/a>, where Assembly elections are being held simultaneously. <br \/>Some of the high-profile BJP candidates whose fates would be sealed on April 19 are Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Bhupender Yadav, Sanjeev Balyan, and Jitin Prasada. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam\u2019s (DMK) A. Raja, Dayanidhi Maran and K. Kanimozhi, and Gaurav Gogoi of Congress, are other heavyweights in the fray.<br \/>A total of 1,625 candidates, including 1,491 male and 134 female candidates, are in the fray in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/2024-lok-sabha-assembly-election-phase-1-states-constituencies-schedule\/article67980008.ece\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">first phase<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/2024-lok-sabha-and-assembly-poll-date-announcement-by-election-commission\/article67953554.ece\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">seven-phase election<\/a> that would culminate on June 1. Counting of votes would be held on June 4. Overall, 16.63 crore voters, including 8.4 crore male, 8.23 crore female and 11,371 third-gender electors, would exercise their franchise on April 19. Around 35.67 lakh first-time voters are registered to cast their votes. Additionally, there are 3.51 crore voters in the 20-29 age group.<br \/>Over 14.14 lakh voters who are above 85 years of age and 13.89 lakh voters with disabilities have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes. <br \/>The Election Commission of India (EC) said that 1.87 lakh polling stations have been set up and 41 helicopters, 84 special trains and nearly 1 lakh vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel. <br \/>Voting will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m., though the closure of poll timings differs in some seats, the EC said.<br \/>Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu reviewed election preparations at a meeting on Thursday. <br \/>On the eve of elections on April 18, President Droupadi Murmu appealed to voters, especially first-time electors, to enthusiastically participate in this \u201cfestival of democracy\u201d. Mr. Rajiv Kumar too made a video appeal to voters. <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/impossible-to-tamper-with-evms-at-any-stage-eci-tells-sc\/article68079202.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Impossible to tamper with EVMs at any stage, EC tells SC<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/elections\/lok-sabha\/sc-asks-ec-to-check-reports-of-evms-registering-extra-votes-for-bjp-in-kerala-mock-polls\/article68078738.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EC informs SC that reports of EVM error in Kerala are false <\/a><br \/>Webcasting will be done in more than 50% of the polling stations along with deployment of micro-observers in all polling stations. A total of 361 observers have already reached their constituencies before the election. Besides, 4,627 Flying Squads, 5,208 Statistics Surveillance Teams, 2,028 Video Surveillance Teams and 1,255 Video Viewing Teams are engaged in surveillance round the clock to strictly and swiftly deal with any form of inducement of voters.<br \/>Around 1,374 inter-State and 162 International Border check-posts are keeping strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash, and freebies. Sea and air routes have come under surveillance.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/general-elections-2024\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> General Elections 2024 <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/arunachal-pradesh-assembly-elections-2024\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2024 <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/sikkim-assembly-elections-2024\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Sikkim Assembly Elections 2024 <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/tag\/202-81\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Sikkim <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/tag\/94-81\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Arunachal Pradesh <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/bharatiya-janata-party\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Bharatiya Janata Party <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/indian-national-congress\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Indian National Congress <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/Prime_Minister_Narendra_Modi\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Prime Minister Narendra Modi <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/topic\/Rahul_Gandhi\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Rahul Gandhi <\/a><span> \/ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/tag\/national-democratic-alliance\/\" class=\"txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> National Democratic Alliance <\/a><br \/>BACK TO TOP<img alt=\"Back to Top\" class=\"lazy\" data-src-template=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/th-online\/back-to-top-arrow.svg\"><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindugroup.com\/privacy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Terms &#038; conditions<\/a><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/r\/tz7UETzxUs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Institutional Subscriber<\/a><br \/>Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our <a href=\"\/termsofuse\/\">community guidelines <\/a> for posting your comments. <br \/>We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMipQFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVoaW5kdS5jb20vZWxlY3Rpb25zL2xvay1zYWJoYS8yMDI0LWxvay1zYWJoYS1wb2xscy1iZWdpbi1vbi1hcHJpbC0xOS0yMDI0LTE2LWNyb3JlLXZvdGVycy1vbi10aGUtcm9sbHMtaW4tMTAyLXNlYXRzLWluLWZpcnN0LXBoYXNlL2FydGljbGU2ODA4MDI5OS5lY2XSAaoBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlaGluZHUuY29tL2VsZWN0aW9ucy9sb2stc2FiaGEvMjAyNC1sb2stc2FiaGEtcG9sbHMtYmVnaW4tb24tYXByaWwtMTktMjAyNC0xNi1jcm9yZS12b3RlcnMtb24tdGhlLXJvbGxzLWluLTEwMi1zZWF0cy1pbi1maXJzdC1waGFzZS9hcnRpY2xlNjgwODAyOTkuZWNlL2FtcC8?oc=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To enjoy additional benefitsCONNECT WITH US April 18, 2024 10:57 pm | Updated April 19, 2024 02:42 am IST &#8211; New Delhi Polling officials, carrying EVMs and other election material, cross the Brahmaputra by a country boat at Baghmora village in Majuli district of Assam on April 18, 2024. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Over [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samvadbharatnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}