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A voter turnout ranging from 40% to 68% was recorded in the initial hours of polling on April 19 in phase one of 2024 Lok Sabha elections covering 102 constituencies across 17 States and four Union Territories amidst sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal and an IED blast in Chhattisgarh that left a CRPF commandant injured.
Minor EVM glitches were reported at some booths in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Assam.
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West Bengal recorded a turnout of 66.34% till 3 p.m. However, polling was marred by violence in the Cooch Behar seat. Both the TMC and the BJP clashed and lodged 80 and 39 complaints against each other respectively related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents, sources from both parties said.
In strife-torn Manipur, around 63.03% of the over 15.44 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 p.m. An altercation broke out between locals and unidentified persons in Thongju Assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
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In Chhattisgarh, more than 58% of the electorate cast their votes in the first four hours of polling in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency where an assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Bijapur district.
Meanwhile, Nagaland witnessed a zero voter turnout in 6 districts as polling officials waited for nine hours in booths, but none of the 4 lakh voters turned up following a shutdown call given by an organisation to press for its demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ (FNT).
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While the BJP-led NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a stronger majority, the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey | Do voters think that present govt. should get another opportunity?Here are the updates on April 19: