Patna/Aurangabad/Gaya | Around 16.63 per cent of the 75 lakh voters in four Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar have exercised their franchise till 11 am on Friday, officials said.
The polling began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm, a senior official at the state Chief Electoral Office (Bihar) said. The voters will decide the fate of 38 candidates in these four seats.
Over 19.33 per cent of voters have exercised their franchise in Jamui Lok Sabha constituency, 17.65 per cent in Nawada, 15.04 per cent in Aurangabad and 14.50 per cent in Gaya till 11 am, officials said.
Earlier in the day, talking to reporters in Gaya, former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi who is contesting from Gaya as an NDA nominee, said, "Voters are coming to cast their votes. Voters are following what our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said 'pahle matdan, phir jalpan' (First vote, then have breakfast)".
Tight security arrangements are in place at Nawada and Aurangabad, besides reserved seats of Gaya and Jamui, where a majority of nearly 5,000 polling booths have been marked as "sensitive".
Of the four seats, Nawada has the highest number of 20.06 lakh voters, where altogether eight candidates are in the fray though the contest is primarily between Vivek Thakur, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP seeking entry into the Lok Sabha, and RJD's Shravan Kushwaha.
Gaya has 18.18 lakh voters, but the highest number of 14 candidates. Here, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, an NDA ally, who is just a few months shy of turning 80, is making yet another bid to enter Parliament.
Kohima | The lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland recorded a voter turnout of 13.51 per cent till 11 am on Friday, officials said.
The voting began at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm, they said.
The polling was underway amid a call given by the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) in six districts of the region to abstain from voting over the demand for a separate state.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio exercised his franchise in his native village of Touphema in the Northern Angami-II assembly constituency of Kohima district.
Interacting with reporters after voting, he expressed confidence that NDPP nominee Chumben Murry, who has been backed by the ruling coalition, will comfortably win the seat.
Congress candidate S Supongmeren Jamir, who is also the party's candidate, cast his vote at his native village Longsa in the Mongoya assembly constituency in the Mokokchung district.
The NDPP nominee cast his vote in Wokha town.
Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton of the BJP voted at his village in Riphyim in the Tyui assembly constituency of Wokha district.
A total of 13.25 lakh voters are eligible to vote in Nagaland.
Gangtok | Over 21.2 per cent of the 4.64 lakh voters in 32 Assembly seats and in the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim have exercised their franchise till 11 am on Friday, an official said.
Voting for the 32 Assembly constituencies and the lone Lok sabha seat began at 7 am and will end at 5 pm.
Polling is underway in 573 polling stations, out of which 88 are in urban and 485 in rural areas, Sikkim Chief Electoral Officer D Anandan said.
Thirteen companies of CAPF have been deployed in Sikkim, of which five companies are from ITBP and eight from SSB, he added..
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, who is spearheading the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM)'s bid for a second term in power, cast his votes in his native Soreng district, where he is contesting from the Soreng-Chakung assembly constituency.
Tamang is also contesting from the Rhenock assembly seat.
Former India Football captain and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) vice president Bhaichung Bhutia who is contesting from Barfung (BL) assembly seat, cast his vote in his native Sanganath village in Namchi district.
A total of 146 candidates are in the fray for 32 assembly constituencies.
Sitting Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba and SDF's PD Rai are among 14 candidates in the lone Lok Sabha seat.
Lucknow | A average voter turnout of 25.20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of polling on Friday in eight parliamentary constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh where voting is underway in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election.
Polling began at 7 am and according to the Election Commission, till 11 am, 29.84 per cent voting was reported in Saharanpur, 23.35 per cent in Moradabad, 25.89 per cent in Kairana, 26.89 per cent in Nagina, 26.94 per cent in Pilibhit, 25.50 per cent in Bijnor, 20.71 per cent in Rampur and 22.62 per cent in Muzaffarnagar.
These seats fall in the Jat and sugarcane belt of the state.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are the BJP's Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina.
The ruling BJP has joined hands with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, while the Samajwadi Party has allied with the Congress for the election. The Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to go solo.
A total of 80 candidates -- 73 men and seven women -- are in the fray in the first phase.
The Election Commission (EC) said 1.43 crore people are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said polling was underway at 14,849 polling booths.
To ensure security, 6,018 inspectors and sub-inspectors, 35,750 constables and 24,992 home guard personnel, along with 60 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and 220 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed.
Itanagar | An estimated 19 per cent of the total 8,92,694 voters exercised their franchise till 11 am on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh where polling is underway for two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies, officials said.
The ruling BJP has already won 10 seats in the 60-member assembly unopposed.
Though the turnout was moderate in the morning hours due to inclement weather, it gathered momentum with weather conditions improving.
In a few polling stations in the state, polling was delayed as the electronic voting machines (EVMs) developed technical snags which were later replaced, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain said.
According to reports from various districts, the polling remained peaceful so far without any incidents of violence, the CEO said Union Earth Science Minister Kiren Rijiju, Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy CM Chowna Mein were among the early voters in the northeastern state.
Rijiju cast his vote in his village Nafra in the newly created Bichom district, while Khandu exercised his franchise at the government secondary school Bomba from where he did his schooling, in the Mukto constituency in Tawang district, the officials said.
Mein also exercised his franchise at Chowkham.
Governor Lt Gen (Retd) K T Parnaik and his wife Anagha Parnaik, cast their votes at Polling Station 1 at P Sector government secondary school, here.
"I had cast my vote as per the Constitutional privilege I have and I appeal to all the voters of the state to exercise their franchise and make our democracy a success," the governor told reporters.
An estimated 8,92,694 voters, including 4,54,256 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise and decide the electoral fate of 133 candidates in the assembly polls and 14 Lok Sabha poll contestants.
Imphal | Around 28.19 per cent of the over 15.44 lakh voters exercised their franchise for the two Lok Sabha seats in the ethnic violence-affected Manipur till 11 am on Friday, officials said.
Inner Manipur constituency recorded 29.40 per cent polling while the turnout in Outer Manipur was 26.02 per cent in the first four hours of voting.
Polling is underway on Friday for Inner Manipur and parts of Outer Manipur seats, amid tight security arrangements.
Meanwhile, stray incidents of unrest were reported from a few places, a police officer said.
An altercation broke out between locals and unidentified miscreants in Thongju assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat.
Guwahati | A voter turnout of 27.22 per cent was recorded till 11 am in the five Lok Sabha seats in Assam where elections were underway in the first phase on Friday, officials said.
Sonitpur recorded a turnout of 28.12 per cent, followed by 29.51 per cent in Jorhat, 26.14 per cent in Lakhimpur, 26.88 per cent in Kaziranga, and 25.41 per cent in Dibrugarh.
The polling, which began at 7 am, would continue till 5 pm.
A total of 86,47,869 voters will decide the fate of 35 candidates in these five seats.
Jaipur | Over 22 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling on Friday in 12 parliamentary constituencies of Rajasthan where voting is underway in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election, officials said.
According to the Election Commission, polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and about 22.59 per cent voting took place till 11 am.
The highest voter turnout of 27.70 per cent was recorded in the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat while Jhunjhunu saw the lowest turnout of 18.91 per cent, it said.
There are 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan. In the first phase, voting is being held in the Churu, Nagaur, Ganganagar, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Dausa Lok Sabha seats, and 114 candidates are in the fray.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and other leaders voted in this phase.
Mishra and his wife Satyawati Mishra cast their votes at a polling booth in C Scheme.
The chief minister exercised his franchise at a polling station of Patnik Jagatpura. Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also cast her vote in this phase.
Union minister and BJP candidate from Bikaner Arjun Ram Meghwal voted at a polling booth in Bikaner, along with his family.
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta cast his vote at a polling booth in Gandhi Nagar in Jaipur and appealed to all voters to exercise their franchise.
Voters were seen posing for selfies after casting their votes at many places in Jaipur city.
The election department has taken some initiatives at the state level in collaboration with business organisations such as the 'Best Selfie Award' and discounts on various products and services to voters who show their inked fingers.
Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) Utkal Ranjan Sahoo said tight security arrangements have been made for free, fair and peaceful voting.
The Rajasthan Police, along with companies of the Central Armed Forces and Home Guard personnel have been deployed to maintain peace and law and order.
According to Chief Electoral Officer Gupta, a total of 2.54 crore people are eligible to vote in the first phase.
