#LokSabhaPolls2019 Live: Phase 2 kicks off across 95 seats in 11 states and 1 UT

Welcome to our live coverage of Phase 2 of polling in #LokSabhaElections2019.

Polling will be held across 95 seats today in 11 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Elections are being held in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur, with nearly 15.8 crore voters registered to vote.

Elections in the parliamentary constituencies of Vellore and East Tripura were rescinded.

5.55 pm

Here’s the voter turnout data from the Election Commission.

5.10 pm

The Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha, Surendra Kumar, has recommended repolling in three booths in Daspalla Assembly constituency due to technical issues with EVMs and VVPATs. He said: “Technical problems arose due to lapses on part of the polling officers, action will be taken against those officers for dereliction of duty.”

5.08 pm

Our Tamil Nadu correspondent Karthikeyan Hemalatha sends us photos from the SIET College polling booth in Teynampet, Chennai, where MK Stalin cast his vote this morning. It falls in the Chennai Central constituency which as of 3 pm has the lowest voter turnout in the state—45.65 per cent.

5 pm

A BJP delegation met Election Commission special observer Ajay Naik to complain about the violence during polling today in West Bengal. Firstpost reports that the BJP demanded 100 per cent deployment of central forces instead of the current strength of 80 percent.

4.50 pm

The Election Commission in Madhya Pradesh banned the Congress’s advertisement Chowkidar Chor Hai. A notification today cancelled the ad’s certification and said it should be discontinued after a complaint from the BJP that the ad is “offensive and defamatory in nature”.

4.19 pm

Voter turnout in Tamil Nadu till 3 pm is 52.02 per cent.

The DMK has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission alleging booth capturing of polling booths by the governing party and its allies across the state after 3 pm. In its letter, the DMK alleged that the police was supporting the capturing and that CCTV cameras were switched off in some instances.

4.15 pm

Here are the official PIB voter turnout percentages for 3 pm:

Manipur: 67.5%; Uttar Pradesh: 50.39%; Chhattisgarh: 59.71%; Karnataka: 67.5%, and Maharashtra: 46.63%

In West Bengal, the state Congress president Somen Mitra says his party won’t seek support from the TMC to form government, or support Mamata Banerjee’s bid to become prime minister in the event of a hung Parliament. He called her the “biggest and most-trusted ally” of the RSS and BJP.

4.05 pm

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani endorsed Congress leader Milind Deora in a campaign video released by Deora today. Deora, who is the candidate for the South Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency, says in the video: “Milind is the man for South Mumbai.”

3.50 pm

VCK leader D Ravikumar says the names of 500 Muslim and Dalit voters are missing in Tindivanam town, Scroll reports. Ravikumar is contesting from the Tindivanam seat in Tamil Nadu. However, the Tindivanam sub-collector called this a “rumour”.

At 3 pm, the polling percentage in Assam stood at 60.38 per cent. In Karnataka, it was 49.26 per cent, and 46.63 per cent in Maharashtra.

3.45 pm

There was tension in Mandya, Karnataka, when a scuffle broke out between the supporters of JD(S)’s Nikhil Gowda and supporters of Sumalatha Ambareesh. Nikhil Gowda is the son the CM HD Kumaraswamy while Sumalatha, the widow of actor Ambareesh, is contesting as an independent. The situation is under control.

3.20 pm

The AIADMK has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against DMK chief MK Stalin for making “false and frivolous allegations against the Central and State government” when he addressed the media after casting his vote today. The complaint said Stalin’s actions were a “clear violation” of the Model Code of Conduct.

3.14 pm

Filing his nomination from Azamgad, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav also asked the Election Commission to take immediate action on reports of EVM malfunctioning in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

3.11 pm

Firstpost reports that in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, a young man tried to set himself on fire near a polling booth after saying “he was not willing to vote”. However the Collector’s office has denied to Newslaundry that such an incident took place.

2.42 pm

Voting was disrupted at a polling booth in Inner Manipur constituency when a crowd reportedly tried to barge into the booth. Security personnel fired shots to disperse the crowd, Firstpost reports.

2.24 pm

Residents of Bhainsapalli village in Balangir constituency, Odisha, boycotted polling today for a peculiar reason: a new railway station, part of which falls in their jurisdiction, hasn’t been named after their village, The Hindu reports.

2.18 pm

Prakash Ambedkar has slammed the BJP for appointing Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal. Calling the RSS a terrorist organisation, he said the BJP has now “brought terrorism into mainstream politics”.

2.14 pm

Back to Chopra in West Bengal: there are reports that an EVM was vandalised during clashes between BJP and TMC workers.

2.05 pm

News18 reports that Srinagar has witnessed a voter turnout of only 2.3 per cent so far. Budgam recorded 6.4 per cent and Ganderbal 6.5 per cent turnout.

ANI reports that villagers of Mangoli Kala in Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh have boycotted the elections over lack of irrigation facilities in their village. It also quoted a polling official from Booth No. 41 as saying nobody has turned up to vote till now.

2 pm

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati accused the Election Commission of turning a “blind eye” to UP CM Yogi Adityanath for his temple visit in Varanasi, after both Adityanath and Mayawati were handed 72-hour bans this week for violating the model code of conduct.

1.53 pm

The Election Commission’s static surveillance team seized Rs 4 lakh in cash from the car of Ashok Nayak, the BJP candidate contesting from Hindol in Dhenkanal, Odisha.

1.43 pm

For the first time, 159 residents of the Institute of Mental Health in Chennai voted in the elections today. Indian Express reports: “…some for the first time ever while others who had voted earlier but have no access to their old voter ids any longer. Notably, a good number of these residents are cured or healthy but abandoned by their families. All of them were certified by doctors as ‘fit to vote’.”

Till 11 am, the voter turnout in Maharashtra stood at 21.47 per cent. Voting is taking place in 10 Lok Sabha constituencies today in the state.

At 1 pm, the voter turnout stands at 49.7 per cent in Manipur, 39.49 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 36.31 per cent in Karnataka, 47.92 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 33 per cent in Odisha and 51.6 per cent in West Bengal.

1.42 pm

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has accused the Election Commission of turning a “blind eye” to UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi.

Both Mayawati and Adityanath were handed 72-hour bans on polling for violating the model code of conduct earlier this week.

1.40 pm

A shoe was hurled at BJP MLA GVL Narasimha Rao during a press conference.

1.30 pm

BJP leaders will meet the Election Commission at 4 pm today to raise the issue of violence in West Bengal, The Hindu reports.

1.13 pm

Around 200 voters protested in Chennai as their names were found missing from the voter list.

In other news, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo has said the 305 EVMs that were malfunctioning have been replaced. 525 VVPATS have been replaced as well.

1.08 pm

An ITBP Constable named Man Singh was injured in the IED blast in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, which was reportedly carried out by Naxals. Polling is underway in the area.

In some happier news, there’s an Assembly of all-women polling booths in Manipur. The Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency—around 138 polling stations including 38 polling stations under Yaiskul Assembly Constituency in Imphal East district and 40 polling stations under Bishnupur Assembly constituency in Bishnupur district—will be run by women personnel. Puducherry has an all-women polling booth too.

12.55 pm

On the recent seizure of cash in Tamil Nadu, BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini told NDTV: “Wooing them with money and things like that is absolutely dirty. The BJP doesn’t have to do these kinds of things since we show them with our work.”

12.50 pm

Omar Abdullah took a potshot at Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur after casting his vote. He said: “BJP have given ticket (from Bhopal) to a candidate who is not only an accused in a terror case but is also out on bail on health grounds. If her health condition doesn’t permit her to be in jail, how does it permit her to contest polls?”

The Maharashtra Congress filed 33 complaints with the Election Commission about EVM malfunction and other issues, Indian Express reports. The report quoted advocate Vinay Pande of the Congress’s legal cell as saying: “Most of these complaints are from Solapur, Nanded and Hingoli Lok Sabha constituencies. It has impacted the voting and there are big queues of people at the polling centres. Besides, EC, we have also raised these issues with returning officers.”

12.37 pm

An IED blast was triggered by suspected Naxals in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, where polling is underway, ANI reports. No casualties were reported.

The AIADMK has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran for violating the model code of conduct, News18 reports. The AIADMK’s letter said Maran addressed the media after casting his vote at Government Higher Secondary School in Nandanam, Chennai. Maran said, the letter stated, “he voted for the change of government and as well as he is requesting the general public to cast their vote for change of Government it is clear indication to the voters to cast in his favour”. The AIADMK therefore asked the EC to take action against Maran.

12.30 pm

The BJP’s Darjeeling district convenor Prasenjit Pal told The Hindu that the Trinamool Congress captured Booths 144-151 and 159 and 189 in Chopra. The BJP Darjeeling coordinator Manabendra Chakraborty told the newspaper: “Situation is quite unstable on ground. In Darjeeling – in many places – our agents were not allowed to enter the booth. Many including women are threatened and asked to stay off the booths. In Chopra area, in Raiganj, there were attacks on us.”

Chopra in Raiganj has seen several reports of violence during polling this morning, including an attack on the CPI(M) candidate Mohammed Salim’s car. Villagers had also alleged booth capturing by Trinamool Congress workers.

12.20 pm

IANS reports that in Manipur, Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah and Chief Minister N Biren Singh jumped the queue in the polling for the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat. Voters waiting in the queue were unimpressed.

12.10 pm

The District Magistrate of Bulandshahr, Abhay Singh, has placed BJP MP Bhola Singh under “house arrest”. Hindustan Times reports the action was taken “for entering a booth, and seeking blessings of voters and allegedly campaigning at the pooling booth in J P Janta Inter College”.

In Lucknow, Poonam Sinha, the SP-BSP-RLD candidate, filed her nomination. She joined the Samajwadi Party earlier this week.

In Sultanpur, the BJP’s Menaka Gandhi filed her nomination too.

11.58 am

The Election Commission has taken cognisance of BJP MP Bhola Singh’s entry into a polling booth after Singh called the District Magistrate who then allegedly asked a security official to let him in.

11.50 am

More voter turnout statistics till 11 am: It stands at 32.18 per cent in Manipur, 18.97 per cent in Bihar, 30.62 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 25.6 per cent in Chhattisgarh.

11.45 am

Bhola Singh, the BJP MP from Bulandshahr, was stopped by security personnel when he tried to enter a polling booth. Firstpost reports: “… [Singh] can be seen in a video as having placed a call to the District Magistrate who then facilitated the BJP leader and his supporters’ entry into the polling booth. The security officer fielding the call can be heard saying that he is not allowed to let leaders go near the EVM.”

11.40 am

The BJP’s Babu Supriyo, who is the Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in West Bengal, says the TMC resorted to violence in Raigunj by “threatening and beating up people who went out to vote”.

Meanwhile, ANI says security personnel have teargassed and lathi-charged locals who are blocking a highway in protest “after unknown miscreants allegedly prevented them from casting their votes at Digirpar polling booth in Chopra, in Islampur subdivision of North Dinajpur”.

11.35 am

Here are some of the voter turnout stats till 11 am. It stands at 32.18 per cent in Manipur, 18.97 per cent in Bihar and 25.6 per cent in Chhattisgarh.

By 9 am, voter turnout in Tamil Nadu was 13.48 per cent and 7.54 per cent in Karnataka.

11.25 am

Kanwar Singh Tanwar, the BJP MP and candidate from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, claims “miscreants wearing burqas” are casting “fake votes”. Remember, during Phase 1 of polling, the BJP’s Muzaffarnagar candidate Sanjeev Balyan had said “fake votes” were being cast by “unverified” people wearing burqas.

11.15 am

Hindustan Times reports: “Voters at Uttar Pradesh’s Birjapur polling station in Mathura complain they are not allowed to vote despite having Aadhaar card as identity proof.”

Villagers allege they were being intimidated by Trinamool Congress workers in Chopra in Darjeeling constituency in West Bengal. Originally a Congress stronghold, the BJP is now gaining ground, India Today reports.

11.10 am

Polling has temporarily halted at Booth No. 217 in Solapur’s Shastri Nagar in Maharashtra due to fault in the EVM, ANI reports.

In West Bengal, the vehicle of CPI(M) candidate Mohammed Salim was attacked at Raiganj. Stones were pelted on his car.

10.53 am

A flying squad of the Election Commission has seized Rs 11.85 lakh in cash from Sion in Mumbai city, ANI reports.

10.45 am

Voting halted at Booth 25/47 in Bagdogra in Darjeeling when voters found black tape covering the BJP symbol on the EVM, India Today reports.

10.42 am

Former prime minister Deve Gowda tells India Today that Modi thinks that Modi himself is the “only man to rule … every individual has the capacity and opportunities”. Rahul Kanwal observes: “His level of clarity in speech is directly proportional to how close we are to an election.”

10.35 am

Five hundred residents are boycotting the elections in Gummidipoondi in Thiruvallur district. They are “protesting the industrial pollution from a nearby factory which they claim was reopened recently”.

10.30 am

A 96-year-old voter in Odisha died while waiting to cast his vote. Natabar Behera from Kansamari queue was standing in queue at Booth No. 184 to vote for the Sanakhemundi Assembly segment of Aska Lok Sabha seat when he fell unconscious and was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead, The Hindu reports.

In Chhattisgarh, a polling officer deputed at Booth No. 186 in Kanker died of a heart attack while on duty.

10.20 am

Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy told India Today the ground reality is there’s “no tough contest” in the state, and he would win with a big margin. He also said dynasty politics aren’t “an important issue now”. “Only because of dynasty politics and regional politics, this country developed in several states. We’re not bothered about criticism from the BJP.”

Fourteen seats in Karnataka go to vote today. The Congress is contesting in 10, the JDS in 4, and the BJP on 13.

10.15 am

The voter turnout in West Bengal till 9 am is 16.78 per cent. 10.76 per cent has been reported in Uttar Pradesh, and 11 per cent in Chhattisgarh.

10.13 am

A “complete shutdown” has taken place in Kashmir, Greater Kashmir reports, after Joint Resistance Leadership—an amalgam of separatist bodies—called for a shutdown. “Heavy deployment of the police and paramilitary forces has been made at all the sensitive places across the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency seat which is going to polls today.”

The Hindu reports that polling is underway in Srinagar amidst “tight security”. Ten candidates are in the fray for the Srinagar seat, including National Conference president Farooq Abdullah who is seeking re-election. According to Hindustan Times, “Voters kept away from polling stations in Srinagar city but voted in large numbers in Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur as balloting was on in the Srinagar and Udhampur Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.”

10 am

Thirty-eight out of 39 Lok Sabha seats across and 18 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu will vote today. Remember, elections were called off in Vellore on Tuesday on the EC’s recommendation after a “highly damaging” Income Tax department report on the abuse of money power.

Newspapers in Tamil Nadu reflected the election sentiment, with political parties pushing their ads on the morning of polling.

The DMK-Congress alliance put out a front page ad urging people to “throw off the oppressive rule of the fascist BJP and its slavish party, the ADMK”.

Here’s Dinakaran with the same ad in Tamil.

While the BJP-AIADMK alliance wasn’t left behind. Their ad urged people to vote for the victory of Revolutionary Leader Amma—Jayalalithaa.

9.55 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked things off on Twitter by urging youngsters to vote.

Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi urged voters to vote for NYAY.