Lok Sabha polls: West Bengal sees 15.09 per cent voter turnout, Madhya Pradesh 15 per cent till 9 am

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Lok Sabha polls: West Bengal sees 15.09 per cent voter turnout, Madhya Prades...

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

As of 9:30 am voter turnout percentages varied across states participating in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections with states like West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh leading the voter turnout charts.

New Delhi, Apr 19: As of 9:30 am voter turnout percentages varied across states participating in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections with states like West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh leading the voter turnout charts.

According to the data released by the Election Commission of India, West Bengal saw a 15.09 per cent voter turnout while Madhya Pradesh recorded a 15 per cent till 9 am.

Voting percentages for the states participating in phase 1 elections are --

Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 8.64 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh - 6.29 per cent, Assam - 11.15 per cent, Bihar 9.23 per cent, Chhattisgarh 12.02 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 10.43 per cent, Lakshadweep 5.59 per cent, Maharashtra 6.98 per cent.

Manipur 11.91 per cent, Meghalaya 13.71 per cent, Mizoram 11.22 per cent, Nagaland 10.64 per cent, Puducherry 10.11 per cent, Rajasthan 10.67 per cent, Sikkim 7.92 per cent, Tamil Nadu 8.25 per cent, Tripura 15.21 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 12.66 per cent, Uttarakhand 10.54 per cent

The voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo informed that elections in the state are going smoothly.

"There are four to five places where the functioning of EVMs was delayed due to technical fault but all were rectified," he said.
Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am.

Voters will exercise their franchise until 6:00 pm. According to the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a total of 1.87 lakh polling stations have been set up, while 18 lakh personnel have been deployed across the 102 constituencies going to the polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing to oust him from power.

The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly. The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases.

(ANI)

IPL 2024: SRH vs RR overall head-to-head; When and where to watch

by Utkalika Mohanty

Hyderabad, May 2: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will host Rajasthan Royals (RR), who look to get a step closer to qualifying for the playoffs, in match 50 of the IPL 2024 on Thursday.

Rajasthan have lost just one match from nine outings this season and continue on top of the points table with 16 points. Meanwhile, Hyderabad have also played nine games this season, winning five and losing four and are currently fifth in the standings with 10 points.

In the SRH vs RR head-to-head, the two teams have played each other 18 times in the IPL and both have been victorious on nine occasions.

SRH vs RR head-to-head 18

Sunrisers Hyderabad- 9

Rajasthan Royals- 9

SRH vs RR match time: The match starts at 7:30 PM IST (2:00 PM GMT) with the toss taking place half an hour before the match i.e., 7:00 PM (1:30 PM GMT)

SRH vs RR match venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Live broadcast of SRH vs RR match on television in India: The SRH vs RR match will be broadcast live via Star Sports Network.

Live stream in India: The live streaming of SRH vs RR available on Jio Cinema.

Squads:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, Upendra Yadav, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Navdeep Saini, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Kuldeep Sen, Donovan Ferreira, Abid Mushtaq, Kunal Singh Rathore.

(IANS)

Read IPL-24 News

China: Death toll in highway collapse in Guangdong rises to 36

by Manisha Das

Beijing, May 2: The death toll in highway collapse in China's Guangdong province has risen to 36, as the emergency team continues to make efforts to recover cars from the spot, Al Jazeera reported.

As of 5:30 am (local time) on May 2, 36 people have died and 30 people have been injured after part of a highway collapsed on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported, citing state news agency Xinhua. As per the report, the injured people were not in life-threatening condition.

The road collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the May holidays started in China. It is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year on the roads.

Aerial pictures showed one side of the S12 highway between Meizhou City and Dabu County had collapsed, causing mud to cascade down the steep and forested hillside. A 17.9-metre (58.7-foot) stretch of the road collapsed, with 23 vehicles found in the muddy pit.

The incident was a "natural geological disaster" that occurred under the impact of continuous heavy rain. Several people who witnessed the incident said that they heard "sounds of cars falling" after "a heavy explosion."
One person said, "We stopped and got out of the car to check and had no idea the road had collapsed," Al Jazeera reported, citing Guizhou Evening News. Following the incident, the highway was closed in both directions and some 500 emergency personnel including firefighters and mine rescue experts were deployed to the spot to help with the rescue operation.

Photos from the spot showed a giant crane pulling the damaged cars from the mud, with excavators on standby. Rescuers were also searching with dogs and life-detecting devices.

The search efforts were affected by rain as well as gravel and soil movement at the site of the incident, posing some risk to the workers, according to a fire department official, Al Jazeera reported, citing state media.

The highway collapse incident is the latest in a series of disasters related to extreme weather events in Guangdong in recent weeks. Heavy rains in April have resulted in floods in various parts of Guangdong that claimed the lives of four people and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents.

Last week, five people were killed after a tornado tore through Guangzhou. The rainfall has been more than it would have been normally expected this time of the year and has been linked to climate change.

(ANI)

Balasore: Bus Hits Unknown Vehicle, 3 Injured, Over 60 Passengers Narrowly Escape

by Manisha Das

Balasore, May 2: As many as three persons were injured, while over 60 passengers narrowly escaped a major mishap after the bus they were on board hit an unknown vehicle on NH 60 at Barunagadia Chakk under Basta police station in Balasore district.

The incident occurred on National Highway number 60 at Barunagadia Chakk under Basta police limits of the district.

According to the information, the Kalianana bus was en route toward Digha when the accident occurred.
The bus reportedly lost control and hit an unknown vehicle. Three passengers were injured, while over 60 passengers narrowly escaped a major mishap.