 "Lok Sabha election 2024")
Lok Sabha elections: On Monday, 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across nine states and one Union territory went to the polls, marking the fourth phase of the ongoing general elections. Voting for all Assembly seats of Andhra Pradesh and 28 Assembly seats of Odisha also began simultaneously.
A total of 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh are up for voting today, taking the total number of polling stations in the state to 46,389 for both the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls.
Here are the top 10 Lok Sabha election updates for May 13:
1) As many as 1,717 candidates are in the fray for today's Lok Sabha election contest across 96 constituencies. Of the 96 seats, the highest belong to Andhra at 25, followed by 17 from Telangana, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, and 11 from Maharashtra. Additionally, eight will go to polls from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five from Bihar, four from Jharkhand and Odisha, and one from Jammu and Kashmir.
Key contestants in phase four of Lok Sabha polls:
2) The phase four polling will witness a high-stake battle between several heavyweights in many constituencies. Some of these include popular leaders such as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC leader Mahua Moitra, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, BJP leader Giriraj Singh, TMC leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan, and Janata Dal United's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh).
PM Modi appeals to voters to participate in elections
3) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday morning, expressed hope that people would vote in large numbers to strengthen democracy as the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections commenced. Taking to ‘X’, Modi said, "In today's 4th Phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 96 seats across 10 States and UTs are going to the polls. I am sure people in these constituencies will vote in large numbers, and the young voters, as well as women voters, will power this surge in voting. Come, let's all do our duty and strengthen our democracy!"
4) Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also urged the people to vote for the Opposition’s INDIA alliance. “Remember, your one vote will not only protect your democratic rights but will also change the fate of your entire family,” he said.
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Filmstar Allu Arjun spotted among early voters
5) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, film star Allu Arjun and NTR Jr were among the early voters in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections. A total of 177 million electors are eligible to vote in today's polling process across 192,000 polling stations. Among these, 89.7 million voters are male, while 87.3 million voters are female, the EC said.
6) On smooth and fair poll conduct, the election body said that a total of 4,661 Flying Squads, 4,438 Static Surveillance teams, 1,710 video surveillance teams and 934 video viewing Teams are keeping surveillance round the clock to deal with any form of inducement of voters strictly and swiftly. “A total of 1,016 inter-state and 121 international Border check posts are keeping strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash and freebies,” the poll body noted.
No heatwave prediction for the May 13 polling phase
7) Notably, no significant heatwave prediction has been made by the India Meteorological Department for Monday, indicating a positive outlook for voter turnout. "The weather forecast indicates that the Parliamentary Constituencies going for polls are likely to experience normal to below normal temperatures (+-2 degrees) and there will be no heat wave-like conditions in these areas on the polling day. However, for the convenience of voters, meticulous arrangements have been made at all polling stations, including facilities like water, shamiyana and fans," the Election Commission said.
Men lead vote turnout in the third phase of elections
8) In the third phase of the elections, the voter turnout stood at 65.68 per cent. The polling for stage three was conducted on May 7, in which the male turnout was recorded at 66.89 per cent while the female voter turnout stood at 64.41 per cent. According to the EC’s data, the third gender turnout was recorded at 25.2 per cent.
Kejriwal mounts fresh attack on Modi
9) Amid the polling activity, fresh political flashpoints have also emerged between various parties. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, since his interim release from the Tihar jail, has mounted a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that he will retire next year after turning 75 and hand over the reign to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Aam Aadmi Party chief cited the BJP’s “rule” book to make this claim, which the saffron party has denied.
BJP-TMC at loggerheads in Sandeshkhali
10) Another political row continues to boil between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress over the Sandeshkhali incident in West Bengal. On Sunday, the TMC lodged a complaint with the election body against BJP leader and National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma, accusing her of being "one of the major conspirators" of incidents in Sandeshkhali. A political blame game has erupted over the incident after purported videos emerged showing a woman saying that the rape complaint is “a lie”. The controversy pertains to allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh.
