As soon as the first phase of the Lok Sabha elecrtions for three of West Bengal’s 42 seats began at 7 a.m. on Friday, reports of clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bhartiye Janta Party (BJP) began to circulate.

An argument between workers and supporters of the two bitter rivals at Chandmari, close to CoochBehar town, resulted in at least one injury. Reports of stone stone pelting also cirrculated.

Anant Barman, a local TMC functionary, was reportedly injured in a crude bombing at Bhetaguri and was admitted to the hospital. the state minister Udayan Gandhi, raced to visit Barman in the hospital.

All three seat, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri, where the first phase of voting is taking place today, were won by the BJP in 2019. 15.2% of voters in CoochBehar, 15.91% in Alipurduar, and 14.13% in Jalpaiguri turned up till 9:00 am for voting.

The BJP and TMC both charged that the other was intimidating voters, keeping them from going to the polls, and attacking poll workers. It is stated that temporary electoral offices were set on fire in places like Toofanganj in Cooch Behar and Dabgram-Fulbari in Jalpaiguri.

The majority of calls regarding voter intimidation and poll violence, according to a representative of the West Bengal governor’s office, came from Cooch Behar.

Five people were killed in April 2021 during Cooch Behar assembly elections, one of them was a first-time voter. There have also been reports of clashes between state minister Udayan Guha and union minister Nisith Pramajick’s supporters.

Meanwhile, for complaints regarding electoral violence, the BJP has established a helpline at its office in Kolkata. TMC officials reported that Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary, was keeping an eye on the voting process from Kolkata.

Superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan cast their votes at their respective polling booths in Chennai on Friday. Actor Dhanush cast his vote at the St Francis Xavier School, TTK Road. Vijay Sethupathi exercised his duty at the Chennai High School in Kilpauk.

Voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 started on Friday. The people of Tamil Nadu will go for voting in the first phase of the elections today. Rajinikanth was accompanied by his publicist and his team at the polling both. He greeted everyone and flashed his inked finger for the media.

A video shows superstar Rajinikanth arriving at his booth and exercising his duty is circulating on social media. He was mobbed by fans while exiting the polling booth. Actor Kamal Haasan, and Makkal Needhi Maiam president, arrived at his election booth to cast his vote. Actor Dhanush cast his vote at the St Francis Xavier School in TTK Road at around 8 am. Vijay Sethupathi cast his vote at the Chennai High School in Kilpauk.

According to reports Ajith Kumar was one of the first actors to cast his vote in Chennai. Social media user Ramesh Bala took to X and shared a video of the actor at the polling station. The actor was seen voting in Thiruvanmiyur early on Friday. Ajith, Rajinikanth and Sivakarthikeyan spoke to the press after voting and urged people to come out and exercise their duty.

Superstar Rajinikanth will be seen next in director TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan. The film features an ensemble cast including Rana Daggubati, Fahadh Faasil, Amitabh Bachchan, Manju Warrier, and Dushara Vijayan, Ritika Singh in pivotal roles. Upcoming projects of Dhanush include Raayan, Kubera and Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam. Ajith was last seen in the 2023 film Thunivu. He is currently shooting for Vidaa Muyarchi, which is helmed by Magizh Thirumeni and also stars Trisha, Arjun Sarja, Regina Cassandra and Arav in important roles.

Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections is taking place on 102 seats spread all over India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X and urged citizens to vote in record numbers. He said he particularly called upon the young and first time voters to vote in large numbers. He added that every vote counts and every voice matters.

Congress leader P Chidambaram and RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat cast their votes in Chennai and Nagpur, respectively. Chidambaram was confident that INDIA bloc will sweep all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also urged citizens to vote in large numbers and added that it is not only meant to determine the fate of a Lok Sabha or a candidate but also for shaping a bright future for the country.

He appealed to all the voters who are voting in this phase to vote in large numbers because every vote of theirs has the power to create a secure, developed, and self-reliant India. He appealed to the people to choose a strong and decisive leadership that has shown the determination to free the country from corruption, nepotism, and appeasement while fulfilling its promises.

In the first phase, elections are being held on all seats in Uttarakhand (5), Tamil Nadu (39), Meghalaya (2), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Mizoram (1), Puducherry (1), Nagaland (1), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1)   and Lakshadweep (1), Sikkim (1).  Besides, there is voting in 8 seats in Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, 6 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 12 seats in Rajasthan, 4 in Bihar, 2 in Manipur, 3 in West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, and Chhattisgarh. Assembly elections are also taking place on 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh and 32 seats in Sikkim.