The first phase of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls ended at 6 PM on Friday. As many as 9.9 crore voters of the eligible 16.63 crore adults participated in the world's biggest democratic exercise. The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections was largely peaceful, with isolated incidents of violence reported from states like West Bengal and Manipur.
Poll Violence In West Bengal In Phase 1 Of Lok Sabha Elections
Three constituencies polled on Friday — Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri. An incident of stone-pelting in Cooch Behar's Chandamari came to the fore on Friday morning. A BJP booth worker was reportedly injured in the incident.
ALSO READ | Stone Pelting Incident Reported From West Bengal's Cooch Behar Amid LS Phase 1 Voting
Later, TMC workers from the Sitalkuchi and Chotosalbari Gram Panchayat areas accused the BJP of attacking them. Governor CV Ananda Bose said: "Peace and harmony is something that the people of Bengal want and the people of Bengal deserve. It is up to the authorities to ensure that there is law and order in the state, especially during the elections. Any perpetrator of violence should be booked and stern action should be taken; that is the responsibility of the Election Commission."
The Indian Express quoted him as saying that there had been complaints of intimidation and violence since the morning. “All complaints are being forwarded to the Election Commission (EC) for appropriate action,” he was quoted. According to Business Standard, 119 complaints were filed by the BJP and TMC till 12:30.
Cooch Behar recorded a turnout of 77.7%, Alipurduar recorded 75.5%, and 79.3% electors in Jalpaiguri turned out to vote.
Trinamool alleged that one of its leaders was injured in an attack by BJP workers and had to be hospitalised.
Images from Bhetaguri in Cooch Behar showed security personnel recovering what appeared to be crude bombs. Incumbent MP from Medinipur BJP's Dilip Ghosh alleged that Bangladeshi goons had been brought to the region to spread violence.
Chhattisgarh IED Blast
A CRPF officer was injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Bhairamgarh. The Assistant Commandant was on poll duty near Chihka village. The Bijapur Police said the injured soldier was rushed to a hospital in Bhairamgarh Hospital for treatment. Chhattisgarh's Bastar went to polls on Friday and recorded a voter turnout of 63.78% till 6 PM
Manipur Booth Capture
Violence-hit Manipur recorded at least one incident of booth capturing on Friday. Armed miscreants reportedly stormed into a polling booth in Khongman, Imphal East. The miscreants gave fake votes at the booth and even damaged a VVPAT machine.
Videos of armed militants shooting near a polling booth in Manipur have now gone viral.
Voting had to be stopped at Thongju and Khongman in Imphal after allegations of irregularities were brought to the fore, said Imphal East DC.
The district of Imphal East comes under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency. Both of Manipur's Lok Sabha Seats — Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur — went to polls in the first phase. However, Outer Manipur will vote in the second phase on April 26 as well. Click here to read why.
ALSO READ | Video Of Firing At Manipur Polling Booth During Lok Sabha Voting Goes Viral
Inner Manipur recorded a turnout of 72.3%, while Outer Manipur saw a voter turnout of 63.5%
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 1: State-wise Voter Turnout
Here's the voter turnout recorded till 6 PM in the 102 constituencies in 20 states and Union Territories that went to polls.
| State/UT | Constituency | Turnout | State/UT Turnout |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 56.8% | 56.8% |
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
Arunachal Pradesh East | 66.9% |
67.1%
|
| Arunachal Pradesh West | 67.3% | ||
|
Assam
|
Dibrugarh | 71% |
72.2%
|
| Jorhat | 77.9% | ||
| Kaziranga | 71.5% | ||
| Lakhimpur | 68.8% | ||
| Sonitpur | 71.3% | ||
|
Bihar
|
Aurangabad | 51.5% |
48.5%
|
| Gaya | 49.5% | ||
| Jamui | 50.1% | ||
| Nawada | 43.2% | ||
| Chhattisgarh | Bastar | 63.7% | 63.7% |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Udhampur | 65% | 65% |
| Lakshadweep | Lakshadweep | 59% | 59% |
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
Chhindwara | 71.5% |
65.2%
|
| Balaghat | 76.6% | ||
| Jabalpur | 60% | ||
| Mandla | 69.9% | ||
| Sidhi | 52.9% | ||
| Shahdol | 61.8% | ||
|
Maharashtra
|
Chandrapur | 55.1% |
55.8%
|
| Bhandara - Gondiya | 56.8% | ||
| Gadchiroli - Chimur | 66.2% | ||
| Ramtek | 52.3% | ||
| Nagpur | 51.2% | ||
| Manipur | Inner Manipur | 72.3% | 69.1% |
| Outer Manipur | 63.5% | ||
|
Meghalaya
|
Shillong | 71.9% |
74.3%
|
| Tura | 78.3% | ||
| Mizoram | Mizoram | 54.2% | 54.2% |
| Nagaland | Nagaland | 56.9% | 56.9% |
| Puducherry | Puducherry | 73.7% | 73.7% |
|
Rajasthan
|
Ganganagar | 65.6% |
57.2%
|
| Bikaner | 53.9% | ||
| Churu | 62.9% | ||
| Jhunjhunu | 52.2% | ||
| Sikar | 57.2% | ||
| Sikar | |||
| Jaipur Rural | 56.5% | ||
| Jaipur | 62.8% | ||
| Alwar | 59.7% | ||
| Bharatpur | 52.6% | ||
| Karauli-Dholpur | 49.2% | ||
| Dausa | 55.2% | ||
| Nagaur | 57.2% | ||
| Sikkim | Sikkim | 71.6% | 71.6% |
|
Tamil Nadu
|
Tiruvallur | 63.5% |
66.2%
|
| Chennai North | 54.4% | ||
| Chennai South | 47.6% | ||
| Chennai Central | 48.8% | ||
| Sriperumbudur | 56.9% | ||
| Kancheepuram | 65.3% | ||
| Arakkonam | 73% | ||
| Vellore | 71.2% | ||
| Krishnagiri | 68.7% | ||
| Dharmapuri | 73.1% | ||
| Tiruvannamalai | 73.8% | ||
| Arani | 68.5% | ||
| Viluppuram | 76.4% | ||
| Kallakurichi | 72.4% | ||
| Salem | 78.1% | ||
| Namakkal | 72.5% | ||
| Erode | 68% | ||
| Tiruppur | 68.6% | ||
| Nilgiris | 70.9% | ||
| Coimbatore | 64.8% | ||
| Pollachi | 70% | ||
| Dindigul | 70.9% | ||
| Karur | 78.6% | ||
| Tiruchirappalli | 64.7% | ||
| Perambalur | 75.9% | ||
| Cuddalore | 69.9% | ||
| Chidambaram | 73.3% | ||
| Mayiladuthurai | 70% | ||
| Nagapattinam | 67.4% | ||
| Thanjavur | 68.1% | ||
| Sivaganga | 57.6% | ||
| Madurai | 61.9% | ||
| Theni | 64.7% | ||
| Virudhunagar | 65.8% | ||
| Ramanathapuram | 64% | ||
| Thoothukkudi | 59.9% | ||
| Tenkasi | 63% | ||
| Tirunelveli | 58.3% | ||
| Kanniyakumari | 57.5% | ||
| Tripura | Tripura West | 80.3% | 80.3% |
| Uttarakhand | Tehri Garhwal | 51.7% |
54.4%
|
| Garhwal | 49.9% | ||
| Almora | 45.7% | ||
| Nainital- Udhamsingh Nagar | 59.9% | ||
| Haridwar | 59.7% | ||
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
Saharanpur | 63.7% |
58.73%
|
| Kairana | 61.1% | ||
| Muzzafarnagar | 54.9% | ||
| Bijnor | 58.2% | ||
| Nagina | 59.5% | ||
| Moradabad | 59.3% | ||
| Rampur | 54.4% | ||
| Pilibhit | 60% | ||
|
West Bengal
|
Coochbehar | 77.7% |
77.57%
|
| Alipurduars | 75.5% | ||
| Jalpaiguri | 79.3% |