The first phase of general elections in India began today (Friday, April 19). In the first phase, polling was held for 102 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. These 102 seats are spread across 21 states and 3 Union Territories. Dozens of seats are contested.
Violent incidents took place during the election campaign and riots took place at many places during the polling today. In West Bengal and Manipur, there were reports of riots and violent incidents, along with a few casualties. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of creating chaos in some areas and torturing opponents.
In the first phase of the 2019 elections, polling was 69.43 percent while this time the turnout has been 60 percent. The turnout was 71 percent in Assam, 77 percent in West Bengal, 79 percent in Tripura, 73 percent in Pondicherry and 70 percent in Meghalaya.
India’s general elections will be held in 7 phases. Polling today started at 7 AM IST and continued till 6 PM without any break.
The details of the 102 seats in the first phase are: All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, 12 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan, 8 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 6 out of 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, All 5 seats in Uttarakhand, 5 out of 14 seats in Assam, 4 out of 40 seats in Bihar, 3 out of 42 seats in West Bengal, both seats in Arunachal Pradesh, both seats in Manipur, both seats in Meghalaya, thirty-six 1 in 11 seats in Garh, 1 in Mizoram, 1 in Sikkim, 1 in 2 in Tripura, 1 in 5 in (occupied) Jammu and Kashmir, 1 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep The only seat of and the only seat of Pondocherry.