 "Lok Sabha elections 2024: How first phase of voting was marred by violence in 3 states")
Polling is underway in 102 parliamentary seats across 21 states and Union Territories in the first phase of high-octane Lok Sabha elections today, 19 April.
The polling commenced at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.
However, violence disrupted the first phase of voting in West Bengal, Manipur, and Chhattisgarh despite strict security measures.
Let’s take a closer look.
Stone pelting, kidnapping, and offices burnt down in West Bengal
On Friday, when polls were being held in the Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri constituencies, West Bengal witnessed political violence again.
According to PTI, both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP clashed and lodged 80 and 39 complaints against each other, respectively, related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents, sources from both parties said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that TMC workers had injured the booth president of the saffron party by hurling stones in the Chandamari area of Cooch Behar. They claim that the purpose of the stone-throwing was to deter voters from exercising their right to vote.
In the heart of Coochbehar Natabari, where the quiet hum of democracy should reign, darkness descended like a shroud last night.
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) April 19, 2024
Amidst the flickering lights of Booth No. 175, nestled within the Pani Shala area, a scene of horror unfolded. Mustafa Ali, entrusted with the solemn… pic.twitter.com/MWppejKPra
Additionally, it claimed that TMC employees had kidnapped its polling agent, Biswanath Paul, from a polling place; however, the BDO reported to the Election Commission that Paul had returned home to get the voter registration list and was now back on duty.
Additional allegations made by BJP workers were that they were attacked in Natabari and that wounded cadres were taken to the Tufhangunj hospital in Cooch Behar. The saffron party claims that TMC destroyed BJP Karyakarta’s houses.
On the other hand, the ruling TMC in the state claimed that BJP leader and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik was inciting violence in the state by keeping weapons in his office. In this regard, they have also sent a letter to the Election Commission.
At Alipurduar, @BJP4Bengal thugs plunged to despicable depths!
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 19, 2024
They brandished weapons, instilled terror among locals, and assaulted our polling agents from the booth 226 and 227, all while the spineless Central forces stood idly by, complicit in their silence.
Such blatant…
Moreover, the party said that BJP supporters had burned a temporary poll office in the Tufanganj-II block’s Harirhat region of Barokodali-I gram panchayat and attacked a TMC poll worker in Alipurduar.
The party led by Mamata Banerjee claimed that Bhetaguri’s AITC block president, Anant Barman, was severely beaten by BJP employees and is currently receiving medical attention at a hospital.
They also said that Hiren Mahanto, Ajeet Mahanto, and Ratan Burman, three BJP leaders, attacked AITC booth agents and threw bombs, inciting violence.
Also read: How much does it cost to conduct the poll?
Violence in Manipur
The polling process has been disrupted by reports of firing incidents, attempts to capture booths, and damage to electronic voting machines at several polling stations in Manipur.
Unverified reports claim that a few individuals were hurt in these incidents.
In Thamanpokpi, which is in the Moirang Assembly segment, armed men opened fire on a voting place multiple times. Authorities quickly increased the area’s security measures after reports of three injuries, as per The Hindu.
According to NDTV, a 25-second viral video depicts chaos and shouting before two rapid-fire rounds are heard. Then there’s a third shot, probably in reaction to the previous two. Following that, there is a barrage of gunfire and the person who is recording the video hides behind a doorway. Ten seconds pass during this fast-paced exchange of gunfire before it ends.
Additionally, according to The Times of India, vandalism has been reported at a polling place under the Thongju Assembly seat in the Imphal East district.
Armed miscreants also reportedly entered a polling booth in Khongman, Imphal East, and engaged in proxy voting, as per PTI.
BJP NDA मणिपुर में कब मोदी जी जानेंगे
— Suraj Kumar 🇮🇳 (@SurajKu66968031) April 19, 2024
Incidents of booth capturing and violence emerge from Inner Manipur constituency that goes to poll today.
Video below shows armed men walking near a polling booth as police look on, women appear to be pleading police to take action. pic.twitter.com/CjmN3zkTt8
Also read: Major battles to watch out for in Phase 1
Blast in Chhattisgarh
On the polling day in Maoist-affected Bastar Lok Sabha seat in Chhattisgarh, an assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Bijapur district, according to PTI.
A CRPF jawan deployed on poll security duty was also injured when a shell of an under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) accidentally exploded in Bijapur district.
According to Indian Express, the incident happened while security personnel were conducting an area domination exercise 500 metres from the Galgam area polling station. Galgam is 50 to 55 kilometres from the Bijapur district headquarters in the direction of Awapalli.
Due to the Maoist influence in the area and inadequate road connectivity, the Indian Air Force (IAF) airdropped the polling parties to their designated locations for safety concerns, the newspaper said.
In Bastar, which has been affected by the Naxal attacks, eleven contenders are running in the first phase of the general elections. There will be two more phases of voting for Chhattisgarh’s 10 remaining constituencies.
Voter turnout in the first phase of voting
A voter turnout ranging from 16.33 per cent to 34.54 per cent was recorded in the initial hours of polling on Friday in phase one of Lok Sabha elections covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories amidst sporadic incidents of violence in the three states.
Election officials said the highest turnout till 11 am was recorded in Tripura which saw 34.54 per voters casting their vote and the lowest in Lakshwadeep which saw 16.33 voting percentage.
Violence-hit West Bengal, Manipur, and Chhattisgarh recorded a turnout of 33.56 per cent, 55.42 (Inner Manipur – 29.40 per cent and Outer Manipur – 26.02 per cent), and over 28 per cent respectively till 11 am.
In Tamil Nadu, where polling is spread over 39 constituencies, a voting percentage of 23.92 per cent voters was recorded.
Arunachal Pradesh saw an estimated 19 per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters exercising their franchise.
In a few polling stations in the state, polling was delayed as the electronic voting machines (EVMs) developed technical snags which were later replaced, Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sain said.
Around 16.63 per cent of the 75 lakh voters in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar exercised their franchise till 11 am.
In Rajasthan, over 22 per cent of voting took place in the first four hours. The highest voter turnout of 27.70 per cent took place in the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat while the Jhunjhunu seat had the lowest turnout of 18.91 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh witnessed 25.48 per cent voting, Lakshwadeep 16.33, Meghalaya 33.12, Mizoram: 29.53
Nagaland 29.70, Puducherry 28.10, Sikkiim 21.20 and Tripura 34.54 per cent.
Constituencies in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
Over 16.63 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase. In the first phase, there are 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Polling is being held for all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (five), Arunachal Pradesh (two), Meghalaya (two), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (one), Mizoram (one), Nagaland (one), Puducherry (one), Sikkim (one) and Lakshadweep (one).
Besides, voting is underway in 12 seats of Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh.
Simultaneously, assembly elections are being held in Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32 seats).
The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations.
With inputs from PTI
Follow for the latest updates: Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 1 LIVE
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