April 17, 2024 9:06 PM.
Campaigning ended this evening for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. Voting in this phase will be held in 102 constituencies spread over 17 states and four Union Territories on Friday.
All parliamentary constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu will go to polls in this phase.
Voting will also take place for 12 seats of Rajasthan, eight seats of Uttar Pradesh, six seats of Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four seats of Bihar, three seats of West Bengal, two seats in Manipur and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
One thousand 625 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, former Telangana Governor and Lt. Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan and BJP state president in Tamil Nadu K Annamalai are among the prominent BJP candidates in this phase. Congress leader in Karnataka, Karti Chidambaram and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Dayanidhi Maran are also contesting in the first phase.
Star campaigners of major political parties made last-ditch efforts to woo the voters before campaigning came to an end this evening.
Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi held a poll meeting at Agartala in Tripura. Earlier in the day, Mr Modi held an election rally at Nalbari in Assam.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting at Mandya in Karnataka. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also addressed a joint press conference at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi held a road show at Saharanpur.
BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference at Aizawl in Mizoram.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee addressed a public meeting at Silchar in Assam.
Besides voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, polling will also be held to elect new legislative assemblies in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim in a single phase on Friday.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the stage is to elect two Lok Sabha Members of Parliament and 50 lawmakers for the state assembly on Friday. The ruling BJP in the northeastern state has already secured 10 seats unopposed in the 60-member assembly.
In Tamil Nadu, voting will be held on Friday for 39 Lok Sabha Constituencies. Talking to media persons, the Chief Electoral Officer Satya Brata Sahoo said steps have been taken to ensure hundred percent voting.
In Rajasthan, senior leaders of various political parties including BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI(M) and independent candidates put all their might into garnering votes on the last day of campaigning.
In Uttarakhand, campaigning for the five Lok Sabha seats set for polls on April 19 has drawn to a close. With just one day remaining until voting day, parties are now shifting their focus to door-to-door canvassing efforts. To ensure a peaceful and secure voting process, 65 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed throughout the state.