Media reports pointed to sporadic violence in parts of West Bengal and a shooting incident in Manipur as 102 Lok Sabha seats – across 21 states and union territories – went to polls in the first phase of the general elections on Friday.

As per Election Commission of India’s figures until 3 pm, 49.78 percent of voters had exercised their right to franchise. The final figures were not available at the time this report was published.

With the first phase, voting has concluded in all the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, and all the segments in Uttarakhand, the six northeastern states and UTs Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, and Puducherry. 

Of these 102 seats, the BJP currently represents 40, the DMK 24, and the Congress 15.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked voters to cast their ballots carefully and wrote on X that “the fight to protect our Constitution and Democracy begins today”. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also appealed to voters to open “Mohabbat ki Dukaan” in every corner of the country.

Major candidates

While the NDA led by PM Modi is seeking a stronger majority with its “400-paar” slogan, the opposition INDIA bloc is trying to improve its performance as compared to the last elections.

Among the top leaders in the fray in the first phase are union ministers Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal Pradesh West), Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner), Bhupendra Yadav (Alwar), Sanjeev Balyan (Muzaffarnagar), Jitendra Singh (Udhampur), Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner), L Murugan (Nilgiris), and Nisith Pramanik (Coochbehar). Former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb and former Arunachal CM Nabam Tuki are also among the candidates in the first phase.

Tamilisai Soundararajan is contesting as a BJP candidate from Chennai South after resigning as governor of Puducherry. She’s pitted against Thamizhachi Thangapandian of the DMK and J Jayavardhan of the AIADMK.

Several voters in south Chennai were in for a shock when they went to their polling stations, only to discover that their names were deleted from the electoral rolls. 

Among the most interesting poll fights in Tamil Nadu is Coimbatore. The seat is a prestige battle for the BJP and signifies survival for the AIADMK, while the DMK is looking to take advantage of the split between the two parties. The BJP has fielded its state president Annamalai for the seat, while the DMK’s candidate is former city mayor Ganapathy Rajakumar and the AIADMK’s candidate is G Ramachandran.

In Pudukottai’s Vengavayal village, Dalit residents boycotted the polls, expressing anger over the government’s inaction against the culprits who contaminated their drinking water with faeces. The residents alleged that the government is shielding the caste Hindu groups behind the caste atrocity. They refused to vote until the real culprits were found and arrested. 

In Rajasthan, it’s a litmus test for CM Bhajanlal Sharma, accused of being a “parchi CM”, with an uphill task for the BJP after its big victories in the 2014 and 2019 elections.

Violence and vandalism

More than 18 lakh polling personnel have been deployed across 1.87 lakh stations.

Meanwhile, there were complaints of violence, intimidation and assault in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri as they went to polls, according to media reports. Governor C V Ananda Bose told the media that all the complaints are being forwarded to the Election Commission for action.

Incidents of violence were reported in the Inner Manipur seat amid an increased security vigil in the northeastern state, according to The Hindu. Miscreants fired at a polling station at Thamanpokpi in the Moirang segment leaving three injured, The Hindu reported. 

Vandalism was also reported at a polling station under Thongju seat in Imphal East. Manipur has been gripped by ethnic violence between the Kuki and the Meitei communities since May.

Additionally, The Hindu noted minor EVM glitches at some booths in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Six districts in Nagaland reported a voter turnout of almost zero at 1 pm, after the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation urged citizens not to vote as part of a protest for a separate state. The six districts have over four lakh voters.

Polls will conclude on June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.

Simultaneously, voting took place today for 60 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and 32 assembly seats in Sikkim. The results will be declared on June 2.

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