Lok Sabha Phase 2 Polls: Voting Begins On 88 Seats Across 13 States, UT

Lok Sabha Phase 2 Polls: Voting has started on 88 constituencies across 13 states, and a Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Lok Sabha Phase 2 Voting

Source : PTI Images

Lok Sabha Phase 2 Polls: Voting commenced at 7 AM on Friday on eighty-eight constituencies spread across 13 states and a Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This phase of polling, marked by intense battles, has caught the major attention of both senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and notable Opposition leaders. Among those in the electoral fray are Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor from the Congress party, alongside Union Ministers Ganjendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Choudhary, and Rajeev Chandrashekhar, all contesting in what is considered to be closely fought contests, particularly in BJP strongholds. 

The polling on these seats follows the first phase held on April 19, which covered 102 constituencies. 

Among all seats, the BJP’s push for southern states was notable. Kerala emerges as a crucial battleground for the saffron party where it seeks to challenge the precedents by securing seats, meanwhile, Maharashtra and Karnataka remain under close scrutiny after mixed results emerged since 2019. 

In Kerala, where the BJP had struggled to make a way, the party pins hopes on key candidates like Suresh Gopi, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, and Anil Antony, son of veteran Congress leader A K Antony, to make electoral inroads. Chandrashekhar faces a challenge against three-time Congress MP Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram, while Rahul vies for re-election from Wayanad, his current Lok Sabha constituency. 

In Maharashtra, the political sphere has seen various shifts with former BJP ally Uddhav Thackeray now leading the I.N.I.D.I.A bloc, while the BJP has moved on with Shiv Sena under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Notably, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too witnessed a split, with Deputy Chief Minister Ajith Pawar’s faction aligning with the BJP. 

In Karnataka, where the BJP-Led NDA enjoys dominance in 27 out of 28 seats, the realignment of political forces has seen the former ally JD(S) joining the saffron camp. The I.n.d.i.a BLOC, leveraging on welfare initiatives, aims to make inroads in the state. Click here for all the live updates coming straight from the polling grounds across 13 states/UTs. 

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