Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on 102 seats today

New Delhi: The fate of over 1,600 candidates, including eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and a former governor, will be sealed in electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in 102 seats today.

These polling constituencies fall in 21 states and union territories. Polling will also be held for 92 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Of the 102 Lok Sabha seats in the first phase, the BJP-led NDA had won 39 seats in 2019.

The voting will begin at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. However, in some seats, the time of end of polling will be different. The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh staff at 1.87 lakh polling stations where 16.63 crore voters will exercise their franchise.

The voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 transgenders. In this phase, 35.67 lakh voters will exercise their right for the first time. The Election Commission has used 41 helicopters, 84 special trains and about one lakh vehicles for the deployment of polling and security staff.