The second round of the Lok Sabha elections, which comprised 88 seats across 12 states and a union territory, saw a voter participation of 63.50%. The Election Commission (EC) said that polling was relatively calm.
The preliminary voter participation statistic at 8 p.m. was 63.50 percent, which is projected to rise once information from all polling locations is received. Additionally, voters who arrived at voting sites until the conclusion of polling hours were permitted to vote.
Voters in various areas in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, Rajasthan’s Banswara, and Maharashtra’s Parbhani originally boycotted the votes until being persuaded to participate by officials.
Polling for the second round began at 7 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m., with numerous states facing extremely hot weather. The first phase of voting took place on April 19 in 102 seats across 21 states and union territories.
Voting took place in all 20 constituencies in Kerala, 14 of Karnataka’s 28 seats, 13 in Rajasthan, 8 in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 6 in Madhya Pradesh, 5 in Assam and Bihar, 3 in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 in Manipur, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir.
- The voter participation at the end of polling on Friday was roughly 63%, down from 65% in the first phase last week and 68% in the second phase in 2019.
- According to Election Commission figures, Tripura had the highest voting percentage (79.46%), followed by Manipur (77.32%). Uttar Pradesh had a turnout of 54.85 percent, while Bihar had 55.08 percent. Polling in the Tripura East (ST) constituency ended smoothly, with two polling stations reporting voter turnouts above 100%. This was attributable to the usage of Election Duty Certificates (EDC), according to a statement issued by Tripura’s Chief Election Officer on Friday.
- In Manipur, where security officers were heavily deployed during voting, voter turnout was exceptionally high, at 77.32%.
- Voter participation in Uttar Pradesh was 7% lower than in 2019, when 62% of the seats were voted for.
- In Kerala, the voting turnout was 70.21 percent. The voting turnout in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala was 72.70%.
- In Madhya Pradesh, voter turnout was reported at 57.88%.
- Approximately 71.11 percent of Assam’s 77,26,668 electors voted in the five parliamentary seats during this phase.
- Voter participation was 57.83 percent in eight Maharashtra seats and 64.07 percent in Rajasthan.
- Bihar had a turnout of 55.08 percent, while Jammu and Kashmir reported 71.91 percent. West Bengal had 71.84 percent voter participation. In West Bengal, the Election Commission received approximately 300 complaints, the majority of which concerned EVM malfunctions.
- According to official estimates, the voter participation in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar seat was 53.30%. In comparison, records from the Election Commission show that turnout was 60.47 percent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 60.38 percent in 2014, and 48 percent in 2009. Almost half of Bengaluru voters chose not to vote during this period. Voter turnout was significantly lower in the city’s three urban constituencies: Bangalore Central, Bangalore North, and Bangalore South. The approximate turnout for these constituencies was 52.81 percent for Bangalore Central, 54.42 percent for Bangalore North, and 53.15 percent for Bangalore South.
