Date: May 07, 2024

Updated: 07:59 pm IST

A snapshot of the Lok Sabha elections held on May 7, 2024, reveals intriguing insights and developments:

1. Voter Turnout:
   • Assam recorded the highest turnout at 74.86%.
   • West Bengal closely followed with 73.93%.
   • Maharashtra witnessed the lowest turnout at 53.63%, while Bihar recorded 56.01%.
2. Election Day Events:
   • Sporadic violence occurred in West Bengal.
   • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced the abolishment of the Agniveer scheme if the INDIA bloc comes to power, alleging its initiation by PM Narendra Modi and not the Army.
   • PM Narendra Modi expressed his desire for 400 Lok Sabha seats to prevent Congress from exploiting the OBC quota for its vote bank. He emphasized the achievements made in the last five years, including the removal of Article 370.
   • Incidents of violence marred the elections in four constituencies in West Bengal, with clashes between workers of TMC, BJP, and Congress-CPI(M) reported in various areas of Murshidabad and Jangipur seats.
3. Candidate Landscape:
   • Over 1,300 candidates contested in the third phase, including approximately 120 women.
   • Notable candidates included Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha), Digvijaya Singh (Rajgarh), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad), and S.P. Singh Baghel (Agra).

Table: Voter Turnout Data