More than 60pc voter turnout in second phase

India voted yesterday in the second phase of the world's biggest election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rivals raise the pitch of the campaign by focusing on hot-button issues such as religious discrimination, affirmative action and taxes.

Almost one billion people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase general elections that began on April 19 and concludes on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.

In the second phase, an estimated 61 percent of nearly 160 million electorates cast their votes covering 88 constituencies across 13 states including some bastions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

People queued up in front of the polling stations as voting opened at 7:00am and voted well after 6:00pm.

"Phase 2 has been too good. Gratitude to the people across India who have voted today. The unparalleled support for the NDA is going to disappoint the opposition even more. Voters want NDA's good governance. Youth and women voters are powering the strong NDA support," Modi wrote on X.

The second phase covered constituencies in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir.

After the second phase, the voters' decision in 190 out of the total of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be sealed in EVMs. The first phase of the election, held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and union territories, saw a voter turnout of around 65.5 per cent.

The result of yesterday's voting will be crucial for BJP as it covers constituencies which are strongholds in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

More than half of the seats in yesterday's contests were in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and the western state of Rajasthan. Kerala is the only major Indian state where BJP has never won a parliamentary seat, though it has seen a steady rise in its voter support from 1.75 percent in 1984 to 13 percent in 2019.

The electoral fate of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sealed yesterday in the Wayanad constituency in southern Kerala. Gandhi faced Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and BJP's K Surendran, among others, in the Left Front-ruled state.

Other leading candidates who were in the fray in the second phase of voting include Shashi Tharoor of Congress, Bollywood star Hema Malini and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday declined to order any change to the vote-counting process, rejecting petitions seeking a return to the ballot system or to tally all slips generated as proof of voting via electronic machines, reports Reuters.

Opinion polls have suggested the BJP will easily win a majority, even though voters worry about unemployment, inflation and rural distress in the world's most populous country and fastest-growing major economy.

Modi aims to win 370 of parliament's 543 seats, up from 303 in 2019, hoping for a two-third majority that some analysts and opposition members fear could let his party usher in far-reaching constitutional changes.

Modi is seeking a third term on the back of issues like the consecration of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, economic growth, free ration and cooking gas to the poor and Hindu nationalism. The opposition alliance has promised more doles and stressed what they call the need to save democratic institutions.

The third phase of the election is set for May 7, the fourth for May 13, the fifth for May 20, the sixth for May 25, and the final phase for June 1. Vote counting will take place on June 4.