E-Paper
PM Modi says 'great response' from 1st phase, '...voting for NDA in record numbers'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has been getting excellent feedback from the 1st phase polling which was held on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday thanked the voters after polling of the first phase concluded and said the response was great. "Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. It’s clear that people across India are voting for NDA in record numbers," Modi posted on X after an aggregate of 60.03% voter turnout was recorded till 7pm from 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs. The Election Commission of India said the voter turnout has been high. The turnout figure was likely to go up.
In the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the voter turnout was recorded at 69.43%. Some of the constituencies were different then and the total number of seats which went to polls was 91.
Among the states and UTs that went to the polls on Friday, Tripura recorded the highest turnout of 80.17% till 9pm. Voter turnout figures in the other states are: Andaman Nicobar (56.87%), Arunachal Pradesh (67.15%), Assam (72.10%), Bihar (48.50%), Chhattisgarh (63.41%), J&K (65.08%), Lakshadweep (59.02%), Madhya Pradesh (64.77%), Maharashtra (55.35%), Manipur (69.13%), Meghalaya (74.21%), Mizoram (54.23%), Nagaland (56.91%), Puducherry (73.50%), Rajasthan (56.58%), Sikkim (69.47%), Tamil Nadu (65.19%), Uttar Pradesh (58.49%), Uttarakhand (54.06%), West Bengal (77.57%).
Strife-torn Manipur witnessed some violent incidents except which the first phase of polling was peaceful. Despite these incidents, Manipur recorded a high turnout in the two constituencies Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur where polling took place today.
In West Bengal, violence was reported from Cooch Behar as the Trinamool and the BJP lodged around 100 and 50 complaints, respectively, alleging violence, voter intimidation and assaults of poll agents.
After the voting was concluded, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi held a press conference and said it was clear from the feedback that people voted for PM Narendra Modi. "In fact, even after the first phase of the election, Rahul Gandhi could not muster the courage to contest from Amethi. The result of the election is quite clear," the spokesperson said. "We are going to make a big leap in states where we were considered comparatively weak," Trivedi said hinting at BJP's ‘big gains’ in Tamil Nadu.
