Lok Sabha polls: Tripura leads voter turnout at 16.65 pc, West Bengal at 15.68 pc till 9 am

New Delhi [India], April 26 (ANI): Tripura is witnessing a high voter turnout after 16.65 per cent voting percentage was recorded in the North-eastern state till 9:00 AM, as per the data released by the Election Commission of India.
Other states like West Bengal (15.68), Manipur (15.49) and Chhattisgarh (15.42) are also witnessing high voter turnout.
Maharashtra recorded the lowest turnout at 7.45 per cent as of 9 am.
Voting percentages for other states participating in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls at 9 am are-- Assam--9.71 per cent, Bihar--9.84 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir--10.39 per cent, Karnataka--9.21 per cent, Kerala--11.98 per cent, Madhya Pradesh--13.82 per cent, Rajasthan--11.77 per cent, and Uttar Pradesh--11.67 per cent.
Notably, the overall voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent.
Meanwhile, voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 began at 7:00 am on Friday across 88 Parliamentary Constituencies spread over 12 States and Union Territories.
Due to 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.
Polling for 29-Betul PC in Madhya Pradesh was rescheduled to the third phase due to the death of a candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party. The polling for 102 seats in phase one was completed on April 19.
34.8 lakh first-time voters are registered to cast their votes. Additionally, there are 3.28 crore young voters in the age group 20-29 years.
1202 candidates (males: 1098; females: 102; third gender: 02) are in the fray.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power. (ANI)