India sees 64% voter turnout in 1st Phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

By the end of Phase 1, approximately 60.03% of people cast their votes. Reports of sporadic violence came from Manipur and Bengal.

Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, two states that also conducted their assembly elections on the same day, recorded turnouts of 68% and 68.3% respectively. In 2019, the voter turnout was 81.4% in Sikkim and 65.1% in Arunachal Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu, which had a single-day election, saw a turnout of 67.2%, down from 72.4% in 2019. Rajasthan, along with Tamil Nadu, accounted for half of the 102 seats that were up for polls and recorded a voting percentage of 57.3%, down from 64%.

At 7 pm, Uttar Pradesh recorded 59.5% voting and Madhya Pradesh 66.7%. The highest turnout of 77.6% was recorded in Bengal, where the BJP aimed to narrow the gap with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

In 2019, the BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 seats. Northeastern states dominated by the BJP saw high turnout, with Assam at 72.3%, Meghalaya 74.5%, Manipur 69.2%, Arunachal Pradesh 67.7%, and Tripura at a remarkable 80.6%.

Instances of clashes between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers were reported in Cooch Behar, Bengal, with accusations of violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents. The police denied any violence.

In Manipur, gunfire was reported at a polling station in Bishnupur, and a polling station was vandalized in Imphal East district. In Tamil Nadu, two elderly individuals, including a 77-year-old woman, passed away at polling booths in Salem district.

The BJP, projecting confidence about a third consecutive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, managed to win only 50% of the seats in the last general election. The NDA won 41 seats, and the UPA won 45, with six seats being redrawn as part of delimitation.

The BJP aims to secure 370 seats, heavily relying on the south, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu where it is yet to open its account, and Bengal. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Union minister and BJP’s chief strategist Amit Shah expressed confidence in PM Modi’s popularity translating into a strong showing in the south.

The Congress, pushed out of much of north India, insists it is on the cusp of a comeback, with senior leader KC Venugopal projecting an improved performance in most northern states, including BJP bastions like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. After recent victories in Telangana and Karnataka, and its alliance with DMK in Tamil Nadu, the party is confident about the results in the south.

The counting of votes will take place on June 4.