Lok Sabha polls: CPI-M leader Jitendra Chaudhury casts his vote in Tripura

Agartala (Tripura) [India], April 26 (ANI): Leader of opposition & CPI(M) MLA and CPI(M) State Committee secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on Friday cast his vote at Kolachhera Gaddhang HS School at polling station no. 8 of Assembly Constituency no. 39.
Jitendra Chaudhury said, "I have cast my vote and have come to know that a good number of voters have come out in the morning to cast their vote today exercising their democratic right."
Alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indulged in malpractices during the voting in the Lok Sabha Poll for West Tripura, he said, "I have learnt that the BJP leaders & ministers are although visiting different polling stations yet they couldn't do that much like they did in West Tripura Lok Sabha Poll. We have informed the concerned administration authority and actions are being taken in accordance."
Notably, Tripura continues to lead the voter turnout charts in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections with 77.53 per cent voting till 5 pm, while Uttar Pradesh has registered the lowest turnout with 52.74 per cent, according to the data released by the Election Commission of India on Friday.
The states of Manipur (76.06 per cent), West Bengal (71.84 per cent), Chhattisgarh (72.13 per cent) and Assam (70.66 per cent) have also registered healthy turnouts till 5 pm.
Maharashtra (53.51 per cent), Bihar (53.03 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (54.83 per cent) and Rajasthan (59.19 per cent) are the states with relatively low turnout.
The voter turnout of other states is-- Kerala (63.97 per cent), Karnataka (63.90 per cent), and Jammu and Kashmir (67.22 per cent).
Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 began at 7 am on Friday across 88 Parliamentary Constituencies spread over 12 States and Union Territories.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposition parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing to oust him from power.
Due to the severe heat, the polling time has been extended till 6 pm in many polling stations in Banka, Madhepura, Khagaria and Munger constituencies in Bihar to facilitate voters coming to the voting booths.
The polling for 102 seats in phase one was completed on April 19.
34.8 lakh first-time voters have registered to cast their votes. The elections are being held in 7 phases with the results due on June 4. (ANI)