New Delhi: Fate of 1210 candidates including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to be decided as electors spread across 89 constituencies in13 states/UTs cast their votes in phase two of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls on Friday.
In this phase, elections are being held in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, J&K, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Manipur. In Kerala, elections is being held for all 20 constituencies.
The polls are being held amidst a fierce battle of polemics between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA and the opposition alliance INDIA bloc.
Of these 89 seats, BJP had won 55 seats in the last general elections, while the Congress had grabbed poll position in 15 seats.
Key candidates in the fray during the second phase include Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, Congress's Shashi Tharoor and BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram, Bollywood actress Hema Malini (BJP) from Mathura,former Chattisgarh Chief MInister Bhupesh Baghel (Congress) from Rajnandgaon, DK Suresh (Congress) from Bangalore Rural, and Tejasvi Surya (BJP) from Bangalore South.
The voting began at 7 AM and will continue till 5 PM.
The first phase of polling was held on April 19 wherein votes were cast for as many as 102 Lok Sabha seats with over 60 percent turnout.
In the second phase on Friday, voting is being held for all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, 8 each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, 3 each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and one each in Tripura, Manipur and J&K.
Although the political temperature has been rising with every passing day with the ruling BJP-led NDA and the Congress-headed opposition INDIA bloc fighting an all out battle, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed the Election Commission that there is no major concern about any heat wave on the morrow.
The weather forecast is normal for the 13 states/UTs going for polls in phase 2. However, the EC, given reports of above-normal temperatures and heat waves in certain parts of the country, had held a meeting with agencies concerned to understand the developing weather situation and discuss measures to mitigate any risk due to hot weather conditions during the period of General Elections.
After the second phase on Friday, elections will be over in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura.
