Lok Sabha elections 2024 | Highlights on April 27, 2024

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said he will ensure democratic protests in every taluka of Maharashtra if his party’s candidate from Satara, Shashikant Shinde, was arrested.

Addressing a rally in Satara, Pawar said a case was registered against Shinde in the “APMC FSI matter” on April 26.

“Attempt is being made to bar him from contesting elections. If that happens and he is arrested, I will ensure that each and every taluka (tehsil) protests in a democratic manner,” Pawar said.

Shinde, in his speech, said no matter how many cases were registered against him, he would never leave Sharad Pawar. 

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and attacked the Opposition INDIA bloc saying that they will be “vanquished” after the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. He says that the elections are about mission for developed India.

PM Modi said that the country’s people wont tolerate the Opposition bloc’s alleged “One PM One year formula”.

He said that the Congress and INDIA bloc have vowed to “murder social justice” and that the Congress has always insulted Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and was planning to the reservation system for Dalits.

Modi said that the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu attacked Sanatan Dharma, calling it “dengue and malaria” and the Opposition alliance invited them to Maharashtra and “honoured” them. He also attacked the Opposition leaders for criticising the Citizenship (Amendment) Act if they come to power.

- PTI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Narendra Modi government over jobs and inflation, saying the unemployment rate is the highest in the country.

Addressing a campaign rally at Udgir in Latur district, she said 30 lakh posts are lying vacant in the Central government which have not been filled in the last ten years.

“Hardships (of the people) and unemployment have risen in the last ten years. 70 crore people, youth are unemployed,” she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said Goods and Services Tax has been imposed on every (piece of) agricultural equipment and promised to abolish it after Congress comes to power.

She alleged democracy was being weakened and in Maharashtra, legislators were bought, governments toppled, and parties were being split.

“There is no bigger crime than what is happening to democracy,” she added.

Congress has fielded eye surgeon Shivaji Kalge in Latur (SC) Lok Sabha constituency against BJP’s sitting MP Sudhakar Shrangare.

- PTI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal holds maiden election roadshow in the Kondli area of East Delhi constituency.

She says Arvind Kejriwal was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics. “We will vote to remove dictatorship, save democracy,” she says, adding, “nobody can break him (Arvind Kejriwal) or make him bow down.”

Sunita Kejriwal will spearhead the AAP’s poll campaign and hold roadshows, including one in West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on April 28, according to party leaders.

She will also campaign for AAP candidates in South Delhi and New Delhi constituencies as well as in Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab, the party leaders said.

- PTI

The BJP has fielded lawyer Ujjwal Nikam from the Mumbai North Central parliamentary seat, dropping incumbent MP Poonam Mahajan.

Nikam was the government counsel in the Mumbai terror attack case.

Poonam Mahajan, the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, won the constituency in 2014 and 2019.

The Congress has fielded Varsha Gaikwad from the constituency.

Challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court might have been a mistake but not doing so would have made things worse politically for the mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone has said.

The separatist-turned-mainstream politician, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the Baramulla seat, said the National Conference was “fooling” the people by talking about restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Noting that the NC was a constituent of the INDIA bloc, Mr. Lone said if the party gets the Opposition grouping to publicly commit to restore Article 370, he will not contest the polls.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on April 27 rejected Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegation that he had opposed the ban on the Popular Front of India and instead accused the BJP of contesting polls in Karnataka in alliance with PFI’s political unit.

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A massive assembly gathered along the streets of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly on Friday evening, fervently participating in the grand rally led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 

The BJP stalwarts were rallying support for the Lok Sabha candidate from Bareilly, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar. 

The rally commenced from the Swayamvar Banquet Hall in Rajendra Nagar, traversing through Shivaji Chowk to the DD Puram intersection at Shaheed Chowk. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged the public to elect Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar from Bareilly and send him to the House. Responding to their rallying call, the voters of Bareilly resounded chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and pledged their commitment to achieving the ambitious goal of ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’.

ANI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi claimed that the ruling BJP’s top leadership may be pretending to be in denial mode now, but the party will change the Constitution if it returns to power.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over inflation, she called him a “mehengai” man.

“BJP leaders and candidates are saying that they will change the Constitution. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is denying it. This is their tactic,” she said at a public rally at Dharampur village of tribal-dominated Valsad district held in support of Congress candidate for ST-reserved Valsad Lok Sabha seat, Anant Patel.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “400 paar” poll pitch has come crashing down after the first two phases of elections, All India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal has said.

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The Congress slammed as “false propaganda” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘snatching quotas’ remarks and alleged that it was the BJP that was against reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the reality is that since 1950, reservation in education and employment has been possible when there have been Congress prime ministers and Congress governments at the helm.

YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy released the party manifesto for the coming elections and promised to gradually hike welfare pensions from ₹3,000 to ₹3,500 per month and govern the State from Visakhapatnam.

The Chief Minister noted that welfare pensions, which are currently at ₹3,000 per month, will be raised to ₹3,250 from January 2028 and subsequently to ₹3,500 from January 2029.

“Immediately after YSRCP forms the government in 2024, Visakhapatnam will be made the executive capital as the seat of the government. It will be developed as the growth engine for the State,” said Mr. Reddy, addressing a press conference.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s “war room” for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi was inaugurated by senior party leader Gopal Rai.

The party has fielded candidates on four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while its INDIA bloc partner Congress is contesting three. The constituencies will go to polls on May 25, the sixth round of the seven-phase elections. The “war room”, located at the AAP headquarters on DDU Marg, will have 12 teams for different purposes, Rai, who is the convener of the party’s Delhi unit, said.

While the AAP is contesting from East Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi and New Delhi, the Congress from North East Delhi, North West Delhi and Chandni Chowk.

PTI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the names of party candidates for prestigious Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in a “few days”.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, he claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are “put on the lap” and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.

“You have to wait for a few more days... when the names of candidates come from people to me and I sign the notification, it will be announced,” he said when asked about candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies.

PTI

Senior Congress leader Muhammed Arif ‘Naseem’ Khan has stepped down from the party’s campaign committee, expressing disappointment that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc did not to field any minority candidate in the Lok Sabha polls.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if Narendra Modi continues to be the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, he would end terrorism and Naxalism from the country and also make India the world’s third largest economy.

He was addressing an election rally at Porbandar in Gujarat in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mansukh Mandaviya.

Mr. Shah said that when Article 370 was scrapped, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opposed the move, saying it would lead to a river of blood flowing in Kashmir.

PTI

Businessman-husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had earlier expressed his desire to contest from the Amethi parliamentary seat, has said that the entire country wishes for him to get into active politics. He also said that Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi has not fulfilled her promises.

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During Congress rule, there were only 7 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in country; now there are 22, said Amit Shah in Gujarat rally on April 27.

“After two phases of Lok Sabha polls, it is clear that people have decided to bring PM Modi to power once again,” he added.

“During the third term of Narendra Modi-led govt, our economy will be brought to third spot in the world,” he further added.

“Make Narendra Modi prime minister for third time to finish terrorism and Naxalism from the country,” said Home Minister Amit Shah at a poll rally in Gujarat’s Porbandar.

The condition of the BJP will worsen in the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed on April 27, a day after the second round of polling was held in 88 seats across 13 States.

“After the first two phases of voting, the condition of the BJP will be worse in the next phases,” he said and claimed that people are ensuring the BJP’s departure.

Sharing a video clip of a news channel reporter speaking to a purported BJP booth agent, the SP chief said that after “10 years of lies by BJP leaders, a “booth agent of the BJP” is speaking the truth about the party’s poor condition. 

- PTI

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Nabarangpur Lok Sabha candidate Pradeep Majhi on April 26 said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will once again form a government in Odisha. 

He also praised Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) V.K. Pandian for the developmental works in Odisha. Mr. Pandian arrived in Nabarangpur district to campaign for the BJD ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the area.

“5T Chairman and BJD leader Pandian is taking a tour of the Nabarangpur district. The work he did wasn’t done by any other leader. He has taken the lead for our party and is appealing to the people and telling them we don’t believe in mere promises, we believe in action. Whatever the public demanded in the last two to three years, was fulfilled by us,” Mr. Majhi said.

A day after polling concluded for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress on April 27 alleged that voters were harassed and the election machinery was hijacked by the ruling CPI(M) in the State with an aim to bring down the turnout percentage.

AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the alleged hijacking of the election machinery by the ruling CPI(M) was one of the reasons for the decrease in polling percentage this year as compared to the turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

- PTI

AAP workers held a demonstration at Laxmi Nagar in New Delhi against the arrest of party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ahead of his wife Sunita Kejriwal’s maiden Lok Sabha poll roadshow in East Delhi on April 27.

The demonstration was organised near a foot-over bridge in the East Delhi area as part of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) “Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se” campaign.

AAP’s East Delhi Lok Sabha poll candidate Kuldeep Kumar, for whom Sunita Kejriwal will be campaigning on April 27, told PTI that the people of Delhi are ready to give a befitting reply to the “dictatorship that the BJP has shown” and the arrest of Kejriwal.

- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on April 26 alleged that Congress and INDIA alliance parties want to lay the foundation for the division of India on religious grounds in 2024 polls adding common people must ‘spoil’ this nefarious design through their votes. 

“These people want to lay the foundation for the division of the country on religious grounds. Your one vote will prove decisive in changing the image and destiny of the country. The public should ‘spoil’ the plans of the Congress in time through their votes,” wrote Mr. Adityanath on X (formerly Twitter), appealing the public to cast their votes.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on April 26 said the Congress wants to give minorities the right to eat beef, adding that this amounted to allowing cow slaughter.

“These shameless people promise to provide the right to eat ‘ gaumaans’ (cow’s meat), whereas our scriptures call the cow mother. They wish to give cows into the hands of butchers. Will India ever accept this?” An Uttar Pradesh BJP statement quoted Mr. Adityanath as saying. 

Mr. Adityanath was addressing an election rally in Bilari in Moradabad district to garner support for BJP candidate Parmeshwar Lal Saini for the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat.

- PTI

Madhya Pradesh’s longest-serving chief minister and BJP stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to play an important role in national politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling an election rally recently that he wanted to “take him to Delhi (Centre)“.

Mr. Chouhan, who was the Chief Minister from 2005 to 2023, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from his stronghold Vidisha, an ancient city incidentally located on the Bhopal-Delhi train route.

The BJP candidate is up against Pratap Bhanu Sharma, a Congressman who won the seat in 1980 and 1984 on the back of the post-Emergency Indira Gandhi juggernaut and later, the sympathy wave caused by her death.

- PTI

Fresh off a resounding victory in the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress is hoping to win 14 out of Telangana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on May 13.

While the party is sitting pretty in at least eight to nine seats, two seats in particular — Mahbubnagar and Malkajgiri — will be two ‘must-win’ seats in the eyes of the Congress leadership, given the close connection that Chief Minister and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy has with these constituencies. 

While Mahabubnagar is Mr. Revanth Reddy’s native district and from where he started his political career, first winning as a Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC), the Malkajgiri seat is also of significance for him as he had held this seat till being elected as Chief Minister in 2023. A victory for the party in both these seats will further stamp his authority on the party, as it is Mr. Revanth Reddy’s influence and popularity that is expected to draw votes, rather than the candidates themselves.

Based in the Dooars, the ‘door’ to Bhutan, ranging between 90 metres and 1,500 metres above sea level, is a blue-sky, green-hill, flowing-rivulet remote area that people from around flock to, for a break. The region is different from Darjeeling — the other tea-growing area of Bengal that is cooler, wetter, more misty — with the tea itself tasting different. The Dooar brew is bright, smooth, and full-bodied, lighter than Assam, unlike Darjeeling’s GI-protected soft, smoky liquor.

“This year, 2024, marks 150 years of tea production in the Dooars area, as the first tea plantations in the region were set up in 1874, a few decades after Darjeeling,” says Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, the president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Associations, a tea trader based in the Dooars.

As per the Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS), a trade union representing tea estate workers, of the 150 big tea gardens, 18 (12 in Alipurduar and six in Jalpaiguri) are closed. The Tea Board of India statistics say that the annual production of tea from West Bengal in 2023 was 422 million kg, 54.5% of which was produced from the Dooars.

In the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency, a region known for altering political allegiance in every election, BJP candidate Dilip Ghosh faces a pivotal challenge to overturn this pattern and secure his political future.

Since its establishment in 2009, Bardhaman-Durgapur has sent CPI(M), TMC and BJP representatives once each to the Lok Sabha in the three previous polls.

With the odds stacked up, the BJP is placing its faith in Mr. Ghosh, widely regarded as one of its most successful State presidents, to retain its foothold in the region.

- PTI

The BJD’s Nabarangpur Lok Sabha candidate Pradeep Majhi is confident that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will form a government in Odisha again. 

“5T ((Transformational Initiatives) Chairman and BJD leader V.K. Pandian is taking a tour of the Nabarangpur district. The work he did wasn’t done by any other leader. He has taken the lead for our party and is appealing to the people and telling them we don’t believe in mere promises, we believe in action. Whatever the public demanded in the last two to three years, was fulfilled by us,” Mr. Majhi said on April 26. “Whatever the public demands, we will stand by that because we are once again forming a government in Odisha. Naveen Patnaik will become CM again for the sixth term,” he added.

Mr. Pandian arrived in Nabarangpur on Friday to campaign for the BJD ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the area.

Nabarangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Berhampur Lok Sabha seats and 28 assembly segments will go to polls on May 13. - ANI

In the heat of the electoral battle between the NDA and INDIA blocs, a post critical of the Congress manifesto has gone viral on social media. Shared by an official account of the BJP, it lists several alleged manifesto promises that appear to benefit Muslims in particular and asks whether the Congress manifesto is a ‘Muslim League Manifesto’. 

Among the claims made in the post are hijab enforcement in educational institutions, wealth distribution to Muslims and special reservations for the community. But The Hindu found no specific mention of Muslims in the Congress manifesto.

Under the ‘Religious and Linguistic Minorities’ section of the manifesto, the Congress says it will “respect and uphold the fundamental right to practice one’s faith and the rights guaranteed to religious minorities” under the Constitution.

It also says it will “ensure that, like every citizen, minorities have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws”. However, it does not refer to any particular religious community, nor does it talk about enforcing the hijab.

Political parties, on April 27, have intensified their poll campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address rallies in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur and south Goa. 

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address a campaign rally in central Maharashtra’s Latur district on April 27 in support of the party’s Lok Sabha candidate Dr. Shivaji Kalge. 

The rally has been organised in Udgir town and it will start at around 3 p.m., said a release from the Latur district Congress on Thursday. 

Latur is among 11 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra that will vote on May 7 in the third phase of elections.

A senior TDP leader has said the priority of the party is to “rebuild” Andhra Pradesh and take the State out of the debt trap by getting rid of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National Coordinator (Election) and ex-Rajya Sabha MP Kanakamedal Ravindra Kumar said Andhra Pradesh has suffered more losses during the Jagan Mohan Reddy government than during the creation of the two Telugu States in 2014 when resources were shared with Telangana. 

According to the State government data, the public debt of Andhra Pradesh has increased from 31.02% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2019-20 to 33.32% in 2023-24 fiscal, indicating deterioration in the fiscal health of the State in the last five years.

- PTI

Around 81% voters exercised their franchise in the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency on April 26 amid complaints of irregularities and misconduct.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer Puneet Agarwal, the scrutiny of the EVMs will be conducted on April 27 which will eventually help the poll authorities to ascertain the final turnout which is expected to rise. 

“In two polling stations, people boycotted the elections in display of their grievances. They were concerned about the decrepit condition of roads and the lack of development in their areas which is why they had boycotted the elections. As soon as the Election Commission came to know about the grievances of the locals, officials of the local areas tried to convince them but we also have to respect their decision,” said Mr. Agarwal.

On the complaints redressal, the senior poll official said, “A total of 92 complaints have been received and all of them are disposed of. In this process, 26 poll officials were suspended for violation of conduct rules.”

- ANI

Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal will hold a mega roadshow in support of the party’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar on April 27.

On Sunday, she will hold another roadshow in the West Delhi constituency. The party has fielded Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi.

Addressing a press conference here, Delhi Minister Atishi said Ms. Kejriwal, a retired IRS officer, will seek votes and blessings for AAP candidates in the absence of her husband, who is in judicial custody. 

Jayanagar police have registered an FIR against BJP’s Bengaluru South candidate and incumbent MP Tejasvi Surya for allegedly soliciting votes on religious grounds. 

The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, in a statement posted on the microblogging website X, said, “Case is booked against Tejasvi Surya MP and Candidate of Bengaluru South PC on 25.04.24 at Jayanagar PS u/s 123(3) for posting a video in X handle and soliciting votes on the ground of religion.”

Mr. Surya, who is known for his controversial statements, reposted a video of him talking to a news agency, in which he said, “We the BJP voters are 80%, but we come out and vote only 20%. The Congress voters are 20%, but they come out and vote 80%. This is the ground reality. My request to you all BJP voters is, every single vote of yours matters. Please come out and vote. Because if you are not voting, the Congress’ 20% is definitely voting.”

Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in an attack by Kuki militants in the early hours of April 27 at the Naransena area in Manipur, police said.

According to the police, the CRPF personnel were attacked by Kuki militants at midnight around 2.15 a.m.

Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Kumar Jha on April 26 highlighted higher turnout and minimal incidents of violence in Outer Manipur in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls. 

- ANI

Voting for three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the second phase of parliamentary election was peaceful with a voter turnout of over 72% till 5 p.m. on April 26. 

Of the three constituencies that went to polls, Balurghat recorded the highest turnout at 72.3%, followed by Raiganj at 71.87% and Darjeeling at 71.41%. The final figures are expected to rise since voting continued till 6 p.m. 

Though there were no reports of violence, in Balurghat, BJP candidate and State party president Sukanta Majumdar got involved in a scuffle with Trinamool Congress supporters. A BJP supporter was slapped by a Trinamool worker in the constituency. In Raiganj, Congress candidate Ali Imran Ramz said Trinamool workers shouted ‘Joy Bangla’ slogans on seeing him.

The nomination of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Birbhum Lok Sabha seat candidate Debasish Dhar was cancelled during the scrutiny of nomination papers citing technical grounds. Mr. Dhar, a former IPS officer could not furnish a ‘no dues’ certificate from the State government. 

The BJP leadership had over the past few days sensed some issue with the former IPS officer’s nomination. On Thursday, the last day of filing nomination papers for the fourth phase, senior party leader Debtanu Bhattacharya filed his nomination papers to contest from Birbhum Lok Sabha. The constituency located in south Bengal is going to polls on May 13. He is likely to be the BJP nominee in place of former IPS officer.

Former IPS officer Debasish Dhar had extensively campaigned since his candidature was announced by the party and the development has come as an embarrassment for the BJP.

Several Muslim communities are entitled to the OBC reservation at the central and State levels. This stems from Article 16(4) of the Constitution, which guarantees reservations for a “backward class of citizens, which in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.” The third Backward Class Commission headed by Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy in its report categorised Muslims as “educationally and socially backward” and further concluded that the economic plight of Muslims is close to that of the SCs in many educational parameters. Accordingly, it recommended exclusive educational reservation for Muslims under Article 15 (4) of the Constitution. In 2006, the Justice Sachar Committee report arrived at similar conclusions.

Importantly, OBC reservations exclude the “creamy layer” (₹8 lakh annual income or more) — members of backward classes who are better off socially, educationally or economically. This means socially progressive and affluent Muslims are not entitled to this benefit. The quota also differs from State to State.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency recorded 53.30% voter turnout for the Lok Sabha election on April 26, according to official figures.

A total of 15 candidates were in the fray for the Gautam Buddha Nagar seat, with 26,75,148 electors eligible to decide their fate. The constituency is spread across five assembly segments of Noida, Dadri and Jewar, Khurja and Sikandrabad. 

The Election Commission data shows that the constituency had recorded poll percentage of 60.47% in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 60.38% in 2014 and 48% in 2009.

- PTI

The voter turnout in the first of the two-phase Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka on April 26, which sealed the fate of 247 candidates, stood at 69.23%, marginally higher than the 68.96% recorded in 2019. Continuing the trend of urban apathy, the three constituencies in the State capital — Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, and Bengaluru South — recorded a turnout of 54.42%, 52.81%, and 53.15%, respectively. Mandya recorded the highest turnout at 81.48%.