Lok Sabha elections to kickstart today; 102 constituencies to go to poll

NEW DELHI: After a heated campaign period, 102 Lok Sabha constituencies across 21 states—including Tamil Nadu—will go to polls on Friday. Voting for the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and the 32-member Sikkim Assembly will also take place today.

In the seven-phase elections in the country, voting will be held today in areas where the NDA and 'INDIA' fronts have equal strength. Therefore, the first phase can influence the polling in future phases. In the 2019 elections in these regions, the BJP-led NDA had won 51 seats, while the parties under the current 'INDIA' front had won 48 seats.

The BJP, which is targeting more than 400 seats, needs to win maximum seats in the first phase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP's chief campaigner, held rallies and road shows across the country with the development guarantee. The Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya was also a major topic during the campaign.

Meanwhile, the main campaign weapon raised by the opposition parties is the misuse of the central agencies, including the ED, by the Centre. They also raised issues such as unemployment and price hikes. Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and others attended several meetings across the country.

States, seats

Tamil Nadu- 39, Rajasthan- 12, Uttar Pradesh-8, Madhya Pradesh-6, Uttarakhand, Assam, Maharashtra-5 each, Bihar-4, West Bengal-3, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya-2 each, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar- one seat each.

16.63 crore voters
1625 candidates