In the second phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, over 50% of voters were registered in 13 states and the UTs till 3 p.m. 65% of voters participated in the first round of the Lok Sabha elections.

The 18th Lok Sabha elections are currently in their second phase, with voting for 88 seats taking place across 13 states and union territories. There are more than 1,200 people running for office, four of them are from outside Manipur.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP members Tejasvi Surya, Hema Malini, and Arun Govil, Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, DK Suresh, the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy are among the notable contenders for the second phase.

In 2019, the NDA had won 56 of the 89 seats and the UPA 24. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.

The first phase of the seven stages of the elections took place on Friday, including 102 seats spread across 21 states and Union territories. Voter turnout was about 65.5% in the first phase, according to the reports.

In biggest festival of democracy, people from all walks of sector took part in it. A video went viral where former India captain and current Indian team head coach Rahul Dravid and former India player and head coach Anil Kumble were seen standing in line  to cast their vote.

Meanwhile, voting started at 7 a.m. and will end at 6 p.m. The Election Commission has extended voting hours for those who are in line by an hour. According to Election Commission figures, the first two hours saw a 9.3% voter turnout throughout the 88 constituencies. By 9 am, Kerala had recorded 8.52%, Karnataka 9.21%, and Madhya Pradesh 13.82%.

In this phase, there were about 15.88 crore eligible voters, comprising 5.929 third-gender electors, 8.08 crore males, and 7.8 crore women. 3.28 crore young voters, aged 20 to 29, are among them; 34.8 lakh of them are first-time voters.

The investigation into the shocking firing incident that took place outside Salman Khan’s house on April 14 keeps bringing new updates with every passing day. In this case, Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the two suspected shooters, have already been taken into custody.

The two shooters have reportedly been questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), according to a new development. Every day that goes by, more information is revealed about the inquiry into the shocking firing incident that happened outside Salman Khan’s house on April 14. Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the two accused shooters, are being held in custody after their first arrests.

It was recently discovered that the two shooters were questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

NIA has reportedly begun questioning Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, who were detained a few days ago for firing openly outside Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai, according to a recent update posted on their X (Twitter) account. NIA has interrogated shooters Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, arrested in the firing case, the tweet said.

According to the reports, two Punjabi residents were taken into custody by the Mumbai Crime Branch yesterday on suspicion of being involved in the recent shooting incident outside the house of Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

The two men, Sonu Subhash Chander and Anuj Thapan, provided guns to Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the shooters, according to information released by the Mumbai Crime Branch. It was also reported that they had communication with the Bishnoi gang. For those who don’t know, hours after the incident, Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, allegedly took credit for the firing in a Facebook post.

The shooters’ custody has been extended by Mumbai’s Esplanade Court until April 29.

Meanwhile, on the workfront Salman Khan was last seen in Tiger 3 alongside Katrina Kaif.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media as the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections of 2024 got underway across the country to encourage voters to cast votes in huge numbers. PM Modi emphasized in his speech the value of voting in preserving democracy and notably urged women and young people to cast votes.

Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, PM Modi wrote, urging everyone in constituencies to participate in record numbers in today’s second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. He said our democracy is strengthened by high voter turnout. He especially urged female and youth voters to cast votes in large numbers. Your vote is your voice, he added.

It is important to remember that 88 Lok Sabha constituencies—spread among 13 states and Union Territories—are presently holding polls. Twenty seats in Kerala, fourteen in Karnataka, thirteen in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, six in Madhya Pradesh, five in Assam and Bihar, three in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one in each of Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, and Manipur are currently up for election. Notably, the untimely death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate has resulted in the Madhya Pradesh constituency of Betul being spared from voting on April 26.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar emphasized the thorough planning that has taken place over the previous two years and reassured the public of careful security measures at every voting place. They have been preparing for the last two years, he said. At each booth, the arrangements are ready. Everything has been prepared for the voters, including fans and drinking water. Voters must turn out to cast their votes. Safety has been considered. There is zero information available anywhere regarding violence. However, there will be forces at every booth.