Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to voters for their enthusiastic participation in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024 and voiced confidence in the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) strong victory on June 4.
Taking to the social media platform X, the Prime Minister stated, “First phase, great response! Thank you to all those who have voted today. Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. People across India are voting for NDA in record numbers.”
First phase, great response! Thank you to all those who have voted today.
Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. It’s clear that people across India are voting for NDA in record numbers.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2024
The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections witnessed a voter turnout of over 60%, covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories. Despite sporadic incidents of violence, including in West Bengal’s Coochbehar and an accidental explosion in Chhattisgarh that resulted in the death of a CRPF jawan, the Election Commission reported that polling remained largely peaceful.
Prime Minister Modi’s NDA is aiming for a stronger majority for a third consecutive term, while the opposition INDIA bloc is hoping for a resurgence after setbacks in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Assembly elections were also held concurrently in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Election Commission noted that the tentative figure of voter turnout till 7 pm is expected to rise as reports from all polling stations are gathered, with voters arriving at polling stations until the end of polling allowed to cast their votes.
Minor glitches were reported with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in some areas, but overall, voting proceeded smoothly. In West Bengal’s Cooch Behar seat, however, there were incidents of violence between workers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with both parties lodging complaints related to poll violence and voter intimidation.
Prominent candidates in the first phase included Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Sarbananda Sonowal, Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, and DMK’s Kanimozhi. Voting also took place in several other states and Union territories, with the Election Commission deploying over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations.