Campaigning for 2nd phase ends, 88 seats to go to polls
NEW DELHI: A high-pitched campaign for the second phase of voting, which saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak about reservation to Muslims and targeted Congress over its alleged wealth distribution promise to “those who have several children” and an uproar over the Indian Overseas Congress’s chief Sam Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax, came to an end at 5 pm on Wednesday.
Eighty-eight Lok Sabha seats across 13 states, including all 20 constituencies in Kerala, will go to polls on Friday, where the challenge for the election commission would be to increase voter turnout, which dipped by about five percentage points in the first phase polling for 102 seats on April 19 as compared to around 70% in 2019.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted hot weather conditions in plains of the country on the voting day, with intense heat wave pronounced for eastern parts, especially West Bengal and Bihar, where temperatures crossed 43 degrees Celsius in Katihar. The weather conditions may impact overall turnout again even though the Election Commission said it has made preparations to improve voting percentage.
In 82 of the 88 second phase seats, the turnout in 2019 was 69.6%. The voting numbers of six Lok Sabha seats — one in Jammu and Kashmir and five in Assam — is not considered as their boundaries have changed since 2019. In all, fate of 1,206 candidates will be decided in the second phase.
Modi while addressing a poll rally on Sunday in Bhilwara in Rajasthan, where the remaining 13 seats will go to polls in the second phase, had spoken about the Congress manifesto promise about redistributing wealth of the rich people among the poor alleging that the grand old party wants to take wealth of Hindus and distribute it among “infiltrators”. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi drew flak for promise of wealth redistribution, claiming that 90% of the tax incentives being given to rich would be diverted to the poor.
Modi also extended his criticism of the Congress to favouring Muslims, alleging it gave OBC reservation to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The Congress refuted the charge, claiming quota was for backward minorities similar to one for Hindus.
The Congress complained to EC terming Modi’s speeches as communal, while the BJP lodged a complaint against Gandhi for making wrong claim over rise in poverty in India. Till Wednesday evening, EC took no action.
On Wednesday, Modi took a swipe at the opposition INDIA bloc, saying the grouping is contemplating “one year, one PM” formula to resolve their leadership issue, adding the world will make fun of such an arrangement.
“People should know to whom INDI alliance leaders want to hand over the reins of the country. It is clear in the BJP that it is Modi, but what about them,” he said, while addressing a poll rally in Betul constituency in Madhya Pradesh. “There have been media reports that a discussion is going on among INDI alliance people over ‘one year, one PM’ formula. That means one PM in one year, second PM in the second year... They are busy auctioning the PM’s chair.”
Former Congress chief Gandhi on the other hand claimed Modi was scared and knew the ongoing polls was slipping out of his hands.
“Modi has made India the capital of injustice. He is scared as he knows that the election is slipping out of his hands. Due to the electoral bonds theft, he knows he will be in trouble after the elections. This is the reason he is continuously speaking lies. But he cannot get away this time,” he said at a rally in Solapur in Maharashtra.
Gandhi is also in the poll fray from Wayanad in Kerala. In 2019, the Congress won 19 of the 20 seats in the southern state.
Among the keenly watched contest in this phase include Purnia, where the candidature of fivetime former MP Pappu Yadav as independent ensured a three-way battle against RJD’s Bima Bharti and Santosh Kumar of JD(U).
In Rajasthan, the fate of sons of two former CMs Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje — Vaibhav Gehlot from Jalore and Dushyant Singh from Jhalawar-Baran — will be decided in this phase. Two Union ministers, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhopur) and Kailash Choudhary (Barmer) are among the 152 in the fray in state.
Half of the 28 Karnataka seats, including four in Bengaluru, will vote on Friday. Maharashtra will see a bipolar contest between the NDA and INDIA bloc on eight seats. Eight seats in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, and seven in the north east — five in Assam, one in Tripura and portion of a seat in Manipur — will also go to polls in this phase.