Lok Sabha polls 2024 phase 1: Over 9.7% voter turnout recorded till 9 am

The first phase of the Lok Sabha polls will see 102 out of 543 constituencies go to polls in 17 states and four Union Territories

Voting in the first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections started early morning on Friday. The first phase will see 102 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats go to polls, across 17 states and four Union Territories (UTs).

By 9 am, over 9.7 per cent voter turnout was recorded across states and UTs. The voter turnout for the Bastar Lok Sabha seat in Chhattisgarh was at 12.02 per cent till 9 am. An estimated nine per cent of the total 892,694 voters cast their votes till 9 am on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh where polling for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies is underway, officials said.

By 9 am, over 7.66 per cent of the 464,000 voters in 32 Assembly seats and the single Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim had exercised their franchise. In Bihar, over 7.3 per cent of the 7,500,000 voters in four Lok Sabha constituencies have exercised their franchise till 9 am. In Bihar, voter turnout figures for the four Lok Sabha seats are Jamui (9.12 per cent), Gaya (9.30 per cent), Nawada at 7.10 (per cent), and Aurangabad at 6.1 per cent.

PTI reported that in Maharashtra five Lok Sabha seats recorded a 7.3 per cent turnout till 9 am.

As of 9 am, Assam reported a voter turnout of 5.89 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). In Mizoram, 9.36 per cent of voters cast their ballots, while Nagaland recorded a turnout of 7.79 per cent.

As of 9 am, Puducherry had a voter turnout of 7.49 per cent, while Rajasthan recorded a participation rate of 10.67 per cent. Sikkim saw a turnout of 6.63 per cent, and Tamil Nadu recorded 8.21 per cent.

By 9 am, over 13.62 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Tripura, while Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand saw participation rates of 12.22 per cent and 10.41 per cent, respectively. West Bengal reported a high voter turnout of 15.09 per cent, according to the ECI data.

The first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 polls is being in Tamil Nadu (39 seats), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (8), Madhya Pradesh (6), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1). There will be five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.

The Election Commission stated that the voting in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will commence at 7 am and conclude at 6 pm on April 19.