Finally! Parts of India are voting today in the first round of a gigantic seven-phase national election !
NEW DELHI: Parts of India are voting today in the first round of a gigantic seven-phase national election that ends with results on May 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term in power with a campaign that has revolved largely around national security, along with populist promises of development, farm relief and welfare measures for the poor. At the forefront of the opposition charge is a re-energised Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, who accuses the government of corruption, crony capitalism and suppression. An alliance of bitter Uttar Pradesh rivals Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati will also be tested as 91 seats across 18 states and two Union territories vote. The last day of voting in the six-week polls is May 19.
Here are the top main updates on Phase 1 of Lok Sabha Election 2019:
Mainly the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Telangana are voting today in a single phase. Voting is also being held in parts of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In the first two hours of voting, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir saw a turnout of 11 per cent. The four seats in Bihar saw a 7.6 per cent turnout till 9 am. Telangana saw a turnout of 10.6 per cent.
In Uttar Pradesh, the state which sends the maximum number of lawmakers to the Lok Sabha, voting is being held in eight of 80 seats. The key constituencies include the western UP seats of Saharanpur, Kairana, Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Gautam Buddha Nagar. The Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav-Ajit Singh combine will be tested in eight seats, mostly held by the BJP.
Voting is also taking place for assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Odisha. In Andhra Pradesh, there were complaints about technical glitches in electronic voting machines(EVMs) in about 50 places, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer said.
Among the key leaders standing for election today are five Union Ministers – Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West), General VK Singh (Ghaziabad), Satyapal Singh (Baghpat) and Mahesh Sharma (Gautam Buddha Nagar). Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary are also contesting.
The BJP manifesto, announced three days ahead of the election, promises around Rs. 20 lakh crore for the farm sector and rural development, lower taxes for the middle class and around Rs.100 lakh crore on infrastructure to create much-needed jobs.
PM Modi has said he needs another term to fulfil his promises. “I don’t claim to have finished all the work. So, when they (Congress) cannot say so in 70 years, how can I make that claim in just five years? A lot has to be done, have potential to do a lot, and for this, there is a need for constant efforts,” he told an election rally in Bihar.
The centerpiece of the Congress manifesto is what the party calls NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana) – an ambitious scheme to provide a minimum basic income of Rs. 72,000 a year for three years to the poorest of the poor.
Opinion polls favour PM Modi even though he has been attacked by the opposition over the state of the economy, failure to create jobs and the crisis in the farm sector. There has also been criticism over the BJP-led government’s failure to control the right-wing fringe groups and cow vigilantes that have gone on an overdrive, leading to multiple instances of mob killings across the country.
Over the last five years, the BJP, with a single-minded goal of “Congress-Mukt Bharat” has captured or consolidated power in 12 states, including all seven northeastern states, and Uttar Pradesh.
After a victory in Punjab and a strong fight in Gujarat – the home state of PM Modi – the Congress managed to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka last year. In the last round of assembly polls in December, the party snatched the heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from the BJP.
