Lok Sabha Election 2024: 2nd Phase Polling On 88 Seats Today, Key Seats Include Mathura And Wayanad

The Lok Sabha Election Phase 2 is set to be crucial, with a focus on states such as Karnataka and Kerala. In this phase, elections will be held in all seats of Kerala, as well as a portion of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. As of 11 am, the voter turnout stands at an average of 25.1 percent, four hours after the commencement of voting. Initially, 89 constituencies were slated to vote in this phase, but the polling in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, was rescheduled due to the passing of a candidate from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

Betul will now vote in the third phase on May 7. Key candidates for this round include the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, and Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot, as well as BJP’s Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is contesting against Congress’s Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram. Other notable candidates include actors Hema Malini and Arun Govil from the iconic 1980s serial Ramayan, senior BJP leader Tejasvi Surya, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Both BJP and the Opposition consider Karnataka and Kerala to be the most crucial states in this phase.

In Karnataka, BJP won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, although the Congress emerged victorious in the last assembly election. Concerns about delimitation and the potential disadvantages faced by the southern states are on the party’s radar. Meanwhile, the BJP is aiming to make inroads into the bipolar politics of Kerala. The party hopes to secure its first win in the state, having fielded Union ministers Rajiv Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan.

In Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, the party has fielded its state unit president K Surendran against Rahul Gandhi. Kerala presents a significant opportunity for the Opposition. Although the Left and the Congress are in competition, victory by either will bolster the Opposition bloc. Kerala has never sent a BJP member to parliament, and the party is striving to expand in the south and east as it aims for 370 seats.

The Congress has expressed confidence in its performance compared to 2019, especially in Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Tejashwi Yadav is optimistic about winning all five seats in Bihar. The election is taking place amidst a tense standoff between the Congress and the BJP, sparked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment about the Congress redistributing personal wealth among “infiltrators” and encroaching on the possessions of women. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4, following the completion of the seventh and final phase of the election on June 1.