The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections is underway. Bengal and Manipur ahead. According to the figures till 11 am, West Bengal is leading with 33.56 percent polling. The polling is 31.65 percent in Meghalaya, 30.46 percent in Madhya Pradesh, 28.12 percent in Chhattisgarh and 27.74 percent in Manipur.
Despite reports of violence, polling in Bengal is progressing smoothly. The first phase of polling is being held for 102 seats in 21 states and Union Territories. The Election Commission has deployed more than 18 lakh polling officers in 1.87 lakh polling stations.
Many prominent people including RSS Sarsangchalak exercised their right to vote in the first phase. Tamil Nadu BJP president and party candidate from Coimbatore constituency K Annamalai cast his vote at Uthupatti polling booth in Karur village.
A CRPF jawan on duty was found dead under mysterious circumstances while the elections were going on in Bengal. The body of the official was found in the washroom of the polling booth. Clashes were also reported in Manipur. Attackers vandalized polling machines in Imphal East. The police opened fire to disperse the attackers.
Seven Union Ministers namely Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiran Rijiju, Sanjeev Balian, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan and Nisit Pramanhik are in the fray in the first phase. Also, BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai is also seeking the mandate.
