Lok Sabha Elections, Phase 2: 89 Seats Across 13 States and UTs Go to Polls Tomorrow; Rahul Gandhi, Hema Malini, and Others Vie for Votes

The second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections commences on April 26, encompassing 89 seats across 13 states and union territories. Voting will commence at 7 am and conclude at 5 pm on Friday.

Key candidates contesting in this phase include Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram, Hema Malini from Mathura, and Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, among others. 

In Karnataka, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's fate will be determined, along with candidates from Udupi Chikmagalur - Kota Srinivas Poojary of the BJP and Congress's K Jayaprakash Hegde. Meanwhile, Tejasvi Surya of BJP, the sitting MP from Bangalore South, faces Congress's Sowmya Reddy.

Other significant contests include the one between Arun Govil, famous for portraying Lord Ram, and BSP's Devvrat Kumar Tyagi and SP's Sunita Verma in Meerut. Additionally, former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, contests from Rajnandgaon against BJP's Santosh Pandey.

In Kerala, the Alappuzha seat becomes a prestige battle for the Congress, with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal contesting against CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate. Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi is also in the fray from Thrissur.

The constituencies going to polls in the second phase are spread across Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Here is the list of constituencies going to polls in the second phase:

Assam: Karimganj, Silchar, Mangaldoi, Nagaon, and Kaliabor.

Bihar: Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, and Bhagalpur.

Chhattisgarh: Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker.

Karnataka: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere, Shimoga.

Kerala: Kasargod, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram.

Madhya Pradesh: Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Betul.

Maharashtra: Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani.

Manipur: Outer Manipur.

Rajasthan: Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, Jhalawar-Baran.

Tripura: East Tripura.

Uttar Pradesh: Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathur.

West Bengal: Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat.

Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu.

The first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha election was held on April 19 in as many as 21 states and 102 constituencies. The states included - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. The voting was also held in union territories - Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry. According to the Election Commission of India, an average of over around 60 to 65 percent voter turnout was recorded in all states.

The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases on - April 19 and followed by April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. The counting of the votes for the same will take place on June 4.