Lok Sabha Elections 2019 LIVE: West Bengal, Odisha lead in voter turnout; MJ Akbar says 'something dramatic is happening in Bengal'

LIVE Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling is underway in 91 parliamentary constituencies of the country spread over 18 states and union territories. After a high-decibel election campaign and prominent leaders travelling extra miles for election rallies, now it's the turn of voters to seal their verdict in the EVMs. The polling has begun at 7 AM in most of these constituencies, barring a few which require special security measures. The first phase covers all parliamentary constituencies of 10 states and union territories namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep, Telangana and Uttarakhand. The polling is also underway in eight constituencies of Uttar Pradesh and four parliamentary constituencies of Bihar, which comprise 80 and 40 parliamentary constituencies, respectively. Voting for two parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal- Cooch Behar and Alipurduar - is also being held today. In Jammu and Kashmir, the polling will take place for Jammu and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies. Other than these, a number of parliamentary constituencies in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, and Tripura will also vote in the first phase. In addition to the Lok Sabha polling, there will be Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as 28 out of 147 assembly seats in Odisha.

Watch Zee Business TV Live Here:

Check Lok Sabha Elections 2019 First Phase LIVE UPDATES here:

03.00 pm: Odisha: 41% voter turnout recorded in six hours

Around 41 per cent votes were polled in the first six hours for first phase of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha on Thursday.

2.45 pm: 56% voting in Bengal till 1pm! Something dramatic is happening in this Bengal election: MJ Akbar

56% voting in Bengal till 1pm! Something dramatic is happening in this Bengal election...

— Chowkidar M.J. Akbar (@mjakbar) April 11, 2019

2.28 pm: Karnataka's PWD Minister and senior Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader HD Revanna on Thursday said if he quit politics if Prime Minister Narendra Modi got re-elected from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency to become PM again.

2.20 pm: Voter turnout encouraging, things going in NDA's favour, says BJP

Describing the voter turnout in the first phase of the general election till 1 pm as "encouraging", the BJP Thursday said everything seems to be going in favour of the NDA. 

2.00 pm: Sikkim records over 23% polling in 4 hours

Over 23 per cent votes were cast in the first four hours of polling in Sikkim on Thursday, in simultaneous elections for a new 32-member state Legislative Assembly and to pick its only Lok Sabha member.

01.32 pm: 25% polling recorded in Assam LS polls

Twenty-five per cent votes were cast in the first three hours of polling in Assam`s five Lok Sabha constituencies, election officials said. The average polling percentage stood at 25 per cent at 11 a.m. Tezpur constituency recorded the highest at 28 per cent while Kaliabar came in second with 26 per cent followed by Jorhat (25 per cent), Dibrugarh (24 per cent) Lakhimpur (22 per cent). A total of 41 candidates are in the fray in the five of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam in this first phase of parliamentary elections.

01.00 pm: 12.55 pm: 20% polling registered in 4 Bihar LS seats

Despite several villages boycotting polling on the issue of development, over 20 per cent of 70 lakh voters from Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui in Bihar voted on Thursday in the first four hours of the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state. Peaceful voting has taken place till 11 a.m., a poll official said on the day when 44 candidates were in the fray.

#LokSabhaElections2019 के पहले चरण के लिए मतदान जारी है, 11 बजे का वोटिंग टर्नआउट#Vote4nation #MakeYourMark #CastYourVote #IndiaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/x3UN3Be8Qs

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) April 11, 2019

12.55 pm: 23% voter turnout till 11 am in Bastar LS seat

Around 23 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first four hours of polling in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

12.50 pm: Nearly 25% polling in J&K till 11 am

Nearly 25 per cent voting was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir`s two Lok Sabha constituencies of Jammu and Baramulla till 11 a.m. in the first phase of election marred by an incident of stone pelting that injured a woman.

12.45 pm: 30 percent turnout till 11 am in Tripura

Thirty per cent voter turn out was recorded in the first four hours of polling in West Tripura Lok Sabha seat even as the opposition CPI(M) and the Congress alleged of rigging and intimidation of voters. 

12.15 pm: Naxals blast IED near a polling booth in Etapalli in Gadchiroli district.   

11.27 am: 18.12% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in West Bengal, 17.5% in Mizoram, 10.2% in Chhattisgarh and 15.6% in Manipur

#LokSabhaElections2019 : 18.12% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in West Bengal, 17.5% in Mizoram, 10.2% in Chhattisgarh and 15.6% in Manipur pic.twitter.com/3VfVikWBk1

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

10.00 am: Jana Sena MLA candidate Madhusudhan Gupta smashes an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling booth in Gooty, in Anantapur district. He has been arrested by police.

#WATCH Jana Sena MLA candidate Madhusudhan Gupta smashes an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling booth in Gooty, in Anantapur district. He has been arrested by police. #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/VoAFNdA6Jo

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

9.40 am: Internet services in Baramulla,Kupwara and Bandipora districts, which constitute the Lok Sabha constituency, have been snapped till polling is over at 6 pm.  

9.25 am: 21% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Nagaland parliamentary constituency

#LokSabhaElections2019 : 21% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Nagaland parliamentary constituency. pic.twitter.com/W5kBQI8lQW

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

9.12 am: Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr. Sanjiv Balyan alleged that fake voting is being done

Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Dr. Sanjiv Balyan: Faces of women in burkhas are not being checked and I allege that fake voting is being done. If not looked into, I will demand a repoll pic.twitter.com/Gphlm2NoRx

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 11, 2019

9.00 am: Visuals from polling booth number 97 in Bandipora

Jammu & Kashmir: Visuals from polling booth number 97 in Bandipora, where voting is underway for #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/00cvqN9PfN

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

8.40 am: Senior citizen voters cast their vote at a polling booth in Coochbehar

West Bengal: Senior citizen voters cast their vote at a polling booth in Coochbehar #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/1mmLJrOxnH

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

8.35 am: Voting underway at a polling station in Imphal, in Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency

Manipur: Voting underway at a polling station in Imphal, in Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency. Voting on 1 out of 2 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held today. pic.twitter.com/FTo9YOKzGz

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

08.10 am: Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat queues up to vote in Devalchaur, Haldwani.

Uttarakhand: Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat queues up to vote for the #LokSabhaElections2019 in Devalchaur, Haldwani. Voting on all 5 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held today. pic.twitter.com/urULcPFJDC

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

08.00 am: Baghpat: Flower petals being showered and dhol being played to welcome voters at polling booth number 126 in Baraut.

Baghpat: Flower petals being showered and dhol being played to welcome voters at polling booth number 126 in Baraut. pic.twitter.com/vszxzuYLlz

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 11, 2019

7.45 am: PM Narendra Modi urges voters to turn out in record numbers

PM Narendra Modi: #LokSabhaElections2019 commence today. I call upon all those whose constituencies are voting in the first phase today to turn out in record numbers and exercise their franchise. I specially urge young and first-time voters to vote in large numbers. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/WOygrZjQLe

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

7.32 am: LS polls Phase I: Key candidates and constituencies to look out for

Under the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, around 1300 candidates are in the fray and there are nearly 170,000 polling stations. Here is a look at some of the key constituencies and key players:

* Hyderabad (Telangana) - An AIMIM stronghold since 1984, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking re-election from this constituency.
* Khammam (Andhra Pradesh) - TDP sitting MP Nama Nageswara Rao is pitted against Congress leader Renuka Choudhary
* Nizamabad (Telangana) - Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha will be fighting against Congress' Madhu Yakshi Gowd. 
* Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) - Galla Jayadev, who is the sitting MP, is looking to retain his seat and is up against BJP's Valluru Jayaprakash Narayana, Congress' Shaik Mastan Vali and YSR Congress' Modugula Venugopal Reddy.

Andhra Pradesh: People queue up at a polling booth in Amaravati to cast their vote for #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/t5bcemhN7K

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

* Kuppam (Andhra Pradesh): TDP chief and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is contesting from Kuppam constituency, while his son Nara Lokesh is making his electoral debut from Mangalagiri seat.
* Pulivendula: YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy is seeking re-election from his traditional family bastion.
* Nagpur (Maharashtra) - This constituency will be keenly watched as Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will be contesting from the Orange City. He is pitted against Nana Patole, who joined Congress in January 2018, after leaving the BJP.

Maharashtra: Voting underway at a polling booth in Allapalli village, in Gadchiroli #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/6kImZ8kwPl

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

* Chandrapur (Maharashtra) - MoS Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir is seeking re-election from this constituency. 
* In Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, Union Ministers General (retired) VK Singh and Mahesh Sharma are looking to retain their respective constituencies.
* Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) - An interesting electoral battle is expected to be witnessed where sitting BJP MP Sanjiv Balyan is facing prominent Jat leader and former Union minister Ajit Singh, the RLD chief.
* Kairana (Uttar Pradesh) - Sitting MP Tabassum Hasan had won from this seat in the 2018 bypolls which was necessitated following the demise of then sitting MP and BJP leader Hukum Singh. Hasan is contesting from this seat on SP ticket, while the BJP has fielded Pradip Chaudhary instead of Mriganka Singh, Hukum Singh's daughter.

Saharanpur: Polling begins at booth number no 349, located at J. B. Jain Degree College. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/KQ8AFzTH2z

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 11, 2019

* Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) - RLD chief Ajit Singh's son Jayant Chaudhary is pitted against Union Minister and sitting MP Satyapal Singh of BJP.
* In Bihar's Jamui seat, Chirag Paswan, whose party LJP is a part of NDA will be contesting from this seat against Bhudeo Chaudhary of RLSP.
* In Gaya, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is the 'mahagathbandhan' candidate against JD(U)'s Vijay Kumar Manjhi, who was fielded by the BJP as part of their seat-sharing deal. 
* In the North-East, MoS Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju will take on former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki of Congress from Arunachal West seat. 
* In Assam's Kaliabor, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi is seeking re-election from this seat, which is a family bastion since 1991.
* In Meghalaya's Tura, Agatha Sangma, sister of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is pitted against Congress' Mukul Sangma, a former Chief Minister of the state.
* Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar (Uttarakhand) - All eyes will be on this constituency as former Chief Minister Harish Rawat will be up against BJP state president Ajay Bhatt.
* Garhwal (Uttarakhand) - Manish Khanduri, son of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri, is contesting from this seat on a Congress. He is pitted against BJP's Tirath Singh Rawat, who is a one-time BC Khanduri protege.

Jammu & Kashmir: Voters queue up to cast their vote for the #LokSabhaElections2019 at polling booths 15 and 16 in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. Voting on 2 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held today. pic.twitter.com/GbFwRO6mrQ

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

* In Jammu and Kashmir, sitting BJP MP Jugal Kishore Sharma is up against Congress' Raman Bhalla of Congress from Jammu constituency. 

7.23 am: Visuals from a polling booth in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh: Visuals from a polling booth in Vishapkhapatnam as voting begins for #LokSabhaElections2019 . Voting on 25 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held today. pic.twitter.com/PRvxWQXgQp

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

7.20 am:  Google marks the commencement of 2019 general elections with a doodle

Google on Thursday marked the commencement of polling in the world's largest democracy with a doodle. The doodle comprises an inked finger, which, when clicked on, leads users to a page that explains the voting procedure.

7.15 am:  RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat after casting his vote for the Nagpur parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat after casting his vote for the Nagpur parliamentary constituency in the #LokSabhaElections2019: Voting is our duty, everyone should vote. pic.twitter.com/iC8pkirwc5

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2019

7.10 am: Voting has begun for most of the parliamentary constituencies at 7 am.