THE SECOND phase of the Lok Sabha elections concluded Friday, with the voter turnout data for 88 constituencies until 10 pm showing a dip — just like in the first phase — as compared to the 2019 elections.
According to the Election Commission, provisional turnout was recorded at 64.2%, which was expected to rise, albeit marginally, as electors were still lined up to cast their votes in parts of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra close to 6 pm. Those who queue up until the last minute before the official polling hours are over are allowed to cast their votes even beyond the polling hours.
In 2019, the turnout in 85 of the 88 seats that went to polls on Friday was 69.64%. Voting comparison for five seats of Assam has rendered difficult since seat boundaries have changed after delimitation last year.
During the first phase of voting for 102 seats on April 19, the provisional turnout stood at roughly 63% by the end of day and the final figure, the day after, was 66%.
Speaking to The Indian Express, senior officers of the EC pointed that sluggish voting in mainly three states —Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — was what pulled the overall polling numbers down. Till Friday night, Maharashtra registered a turnout of 59.6%, Bihar 57% and Uttar Pradesh 54.8%, as opposed to 63%, 63% and 62%, respectively, in 2019.
A total of 16 crore electors were eligible to cast their votes in these 88 seats. With the second phase, voting for a third of the total 543 seats is over. The states where voting is complete now are Rajasthan, Kerala, Tripura and Manipur – apart from the 10 states and Union Territories where polling was completed in the first phase.
Rajasthan, which had 12 seats in phase one and 13 in phase two, had a turnout of 64.07% for the second phase at 11 pm, while the turnout in the same seats in 2019 was 68%.
Kerala, which had all its 20 Lok Sabha seats go to polls on Friday, had 67.15% turnout at 11 pm, while its turnout in 2019 had been 78%.
Karnataka, which had half of its 28 seats go to polls on Friday, had 68.38% turnout at 11 pm, while the turnout in the same 14 seats had been 67% in 2019. The remaining 14 constituencies of the state will vote in the third phase on May 7.
The lone seat in Tripura where polling was held on Friday recorded 79.59% turnout as compared to 82.9% in 2019.
EC officials said the polling went off peacefully, with no complaints of violence.
Thanking those who voted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence of the second phase of the polls going in favour of the ruling NDA. In a post on X, he said: “Phase Two has been too good! Gratitude to the people across India who have voted today. The unparalleled support for NDA is going to disappoint the Opposition even more. Voters want NDA’s good governance. Youth and women voters are powering the strong NDA support.”
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections kicked off with the first phase of polling in 102 seats. While the EC is yet to release final turnout figures, the overall turnout in those seats was estimated to be 66%, four percentage points below the turnout in the same seats in 2019.
After the first phase, the EC held a meeting to assess the weather conditions and mitigate the impact of heat wave. The poll panel said there were no heat wave warnings for the second phase.