Friday, 19 APRIL 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The first of the seven phases of voting now is peacefully underway in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 States and Union Territories and as per reports received, the people, particularly the women and the young voters, are enthusiastically participating in the world’s largest democratic electoral exercise. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the voters to create a new record of turnout in this election, focusing particularly on the first-time voters and young voters. While 16.63 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase, the numbers of first-time voters and the young voters in the age group of 20-29 years stand at 35.67 lakh and 3.51 crore respectively.
As per the election officials, 11.15 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling in the five LS seats of Assam, while over 15 per cent voters exercised their franchise in three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal. Among the prominent early voters of the day were the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju
