Lok Sabha Election 2019 LIVE: 4 injured in clash between supporters of NC, Peoples Conference in Baramulla

At least four persons were hurt on Thursday as supporters of National Conference and Peoples Conference clashed at a polling station in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, officials said.

The incident took place at a polling station in Sumbal area of Bandipora district, they said.

Security personnel on polling duty quickly brought the situation under control, the officials said.

Polling was peaceful in other parts of the constituency, which is spread over three districts -- Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora, they said.

Sumitra Rai, a 107-year-old woman, on Thursday became Sikkim's oldest registered voter to exercise franchise in the Lok Sabha elections. She came on a wheelchair to the Kamrang Government Secondary School polling booth in the Poklok Kamrang constituency to cast her vote.

Her photographs were shared by the official Twitter account of the Sikkim office of Press Information Bureau (PIB), the publicity arm of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

It took a complaint from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to get Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh shifted out by the Election Commission from the high-profile special investigation team (SIT) probing the Behbal Kalan firing incident and linked sacrilege cases.

But it has also isolated the SAD with the ruling Congress, opposition Aam Aadmi Party, the SAD (Taksali) and Sikh hardliner groups gunning for its leadership.

The firing incident and the sacrilege cases had happened in October 2015 during the SAD-BJP alliance government in the state.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu says, “Today I cast my vote. All of you have the responsibility to vote. Most of you went to polling booths this morning. However some of you couldn't vote due to EVM problems. You faced inconvenience.”

“Election commission which acted actively in transferring the officials; couldn't maintain EVMs and VVPATs. They've failed. You had to face troubles in the scorching heat. I'm very disappointed and feeling bad for it. However I once again appeal to all of you to cast your vote.”

Visuals from the polling station at Heirok High School in Heirok of Thoubal district where the polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections has concluded.

Three persons were injured when supporters of two rival political parties clashed in the Tali Assembly constituency of Arunachal Pradesh during polling on Thursday, an election official said.

The clash broke out outside a polling booth at Pipsorang, District Electoral Officer Santosh Kumar Rai said. Further details were awaited as telecommunication connectivity in the area was bad, the official said.

Police officials said the injured were taken to hospital by a helicopter.

Bihar: 38.50% voting recorded in Aurangabad, 44% in Gaya, 43% in Nawada and 41.34% in Jamui, till 3 pm.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) writes to Chief Electoral Officer, Bhubaneswar, over violation of EC guidelines by BJP for holding press meet today and details of the same being provided on scrolling news on OTV. We demand strict action be taken against BJP, its leaders and OTV.

The district election officer (DEO) of Hailakandi has issued show cause notices to five schools for violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by sending students to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's rally at Panchgram.

The rally was organised there on Tuesday.

The DEO, Keerthi Jalli, also asked the heads of the educational institutions as to why immediate action, including cancellation of certification and permission to run the schools, should not be initiated for violation of the MCC and Representation of People's Act, 1951.

Voter turnout till 3 pm in Mizoram is 55.20%, in Tripura West parliamentary constituency is 68.65% and in West Bengal is 69.94%.

A clash broke out between workers of TDP and YSRCP at a polling station in a village of Jammalamadugu Mandal in Kadapa district today. One injured YSRCP worker has been taken to hospital.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis cast their vote at a polling station in Nagpur earlier today.

The Supreme Court today reserved its order in the challenge to electoral bonds according to a report by Bar and Bench.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna heard the parties before reserving the order. The order will be pronounced at 10.30 am tomorrow.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Central government, made some controversial arguments today.

BSP writes to EC: We are receiving info from various polling stations that BSP voters specially dalits are being stopped from reaching polling booths by use of force by UP police. All this is apparently being done on diktat of higher-ups. Immediate intervention is required.

Jammu and Kashmir has recorded over 35 per cent turnout till 1 pm in Jammu and Baramulla constituencies, where voting is underway in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, even as there were protests over defective EVMs in some areas, officials said. The two constituencies house over 33 lakh electorate.

The National Conference and the PDP alleged that uniformed personnel "coerced" people to vote for the BJP and that EVMs malfunctioned in some places with Congress button not working in Jammu's Poonch area.

While the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency recorded 44.65 per cent turnout, Baramula registered 22.3 per cent till 1 pm, the officials said.

Glitches in EVMs were reported at some places in the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra where polling is being held in the first phase on Thursday, an official said.

After reports of VVPAT machines not working in Gondiya district of Bhanadara-Gondiya constituency, returning officer there said that the faulty machines are being replaced quickly and the election is going on smoothly without delay.

EVM glitches were also reported from Booth No. 127 (Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency) and Booth No. 147 (Yavatmal- Washim) in Maharashtra.

A robust average of 30.19% voting was recorded at half-way mark till 1 p.m. in Maharashtra's seven Lok Sabha constituencies on Thursday, an official said.

Surprisingly, the highest voting -- 41.87% -- was notched in the Maoist-infested Gadchiroli-Chimur and the lowest -- 23.19% -- was seen in Ramtek, a reserved SC seat.

Around 37.7 per cent voters in Lakshadweep exercised their franchise till 1 p.m. on Thursday, as per the Election Commission.

The general elections kicked off with the first phase of polling on Thursday across 91 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 20 states and Union territories.

Lakshadweep, the smallest Lok Sabha constituency with 54,266 voters, has six candidates from the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the NCP in the poll fray.

Three people dead, 9 injured as a tractor overturned near Shankarpur village in Gadchiroli, today. The victims were returning to their village after casting their votes.

MHA: We've not received any letter regarding alleged breach in security of Congress Pres Rahul Gandhi. As soon as MHA’s attention was drawn to reports of incident of “green light” being pointed at him y'day in Amethi, the Director (SPG) was asked to verify factual position

Director SPG informed MHA that the “green light” shown in clipping was found to be that of a mobile phone used by AICC photographer, who was video graphing the impromptu press interaction of Rahul Gandhi near the collectorate in Amethi.

Telugu Desam Party leader Kodela Siva Prasada Rao attacked at a polling booth in Sattenapalli, Guntur

Congress wrote to Home Minister over breach in security of its president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday; says Rahul Gandhi was addressing media after filing nomination from Amethi, "a persual of his interaction will reflect that a laser was pointed at his head, on at least 7 separate occasions"

Former cricketer and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president, Mohammad Azharuddin, cast his vote at polling booth number 71.

Security personnel fired shots in air after some ppl tried to cast vote without voter ID at a polling station in Shamli. District Magistrate says,“BSF personnel, fired in air for security reasons after some ppl without voter ID tried to cast vote. Voting has resumed now."

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.

“There have been many people in Indian history who had arrogance to believe that they're invincible & bigger than the people of India. Narendra Modi for the last 5 years has done nothing for the people of India.His invincibility will be in full view after election results,” said Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Using art to raise voter awareness, Odisha-based sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Thursday created a sand art sculpture 'Your Vote, Your Future', urging people to cast their vote as the first phase of parliamentary elections got underway.

The head of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, Pattnaik took to Twitter to request "all voters to vote for nation's development".

Taken against the Bay of Bengal, a photograph showed the sand art at the Puri beach, depicting the diverse people of India, an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and an inked finger showing the casting of vote.

Polling is on for 91 seats in the first phase of parliamentary elections across 18 states and two union territories. Votes are also being cast for Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha.

TDP leader S Bhaskar Reddy killed in clashes in Tadipatri town of Anantapur. TDP has alleged that YSRCP workers are behind the incident.

An estimated 25 per cent voters on Thurday exercised their franchise till 11.30 am in five parliamentary constituencies in Assam, polling officials said.

Yog-Guru Ramdev casts his vote at a polling station in Haridwar in the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019

Election Commission refutes allegations made by BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan alleging fake voting in Muzaffarnagar through burqas

“Congress symbol button not working in Poonch polling stations” , tweets Omar Abdullah

“There was an issue with Congress button in Shahpur, our staff replaced the machine. At another polling station BJP button wasn't working, we changed that also,” said Poonch District Election Officer

Sonia Gandhi performs 'havan' ahead of filing nomination from Raebareli. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also present

Polling in Uttarakhand's five Lok Sabha seats saw 23.78 per cent voter turnout by 11 am with people queuing up since early morning to exercise their franchise, an official said.

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.

An estimated 11 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first three hours of polling in 32 legislative assembly constituencies and the loan Lok Sabha constituency in Sikkim.

In the maiden phase of Lok Sabha elections, some 21 per cent of voting was recorded in the eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh in the first four hours.

Polling is taking place in Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Meerut, Noida, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Bijnore.

Technical problems in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at a booth in Shamli district's Hasanpur Luhari village delayed the start of voting.

An average 13.7 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 11 am in seven constituencies of Maharashtra where polling was underway in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

According to a district election official, the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat witnessed 17.56 per cent voting in the first four hours, while it was 18.01 per cent in the Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency.

Besides, Wardha recorded 15.76 per cent polling till 11 am, followed by Bhandara-Gondiya - 12.2 per cent, Yavatmal-Washim - 12.06 per cent, Chandrapur- 10.86 per cent and Ramtek (SC)- 9.82 per cent.

All these constituencies are located in the state's Vidarbha region.

Polling booths in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency, policemen stationed outside polling booths in Noida were reportedly distributed food packets bearing logos that read "Namo Foods"

The Jammu Lok Sabha constituency recorded 13 percent polling till 9 am on Thursday, election officials said.

Shobhana Kamineni of Apollo Hospitals group upset that her name did not figure in voters list in Hyderabad. She had voted in the Telangana assembly polls in 2018. Her sister Sangita Reddy's husband Konda Vishweshwar Reddy is Congress candidate from Chevella.

“It is likely that many voters who returned may not come back for voting even if polling is resumed after replacement / repair of existing EVMs. Therefore, repolling is needed in all polling stations where polling had not commenced upto 9.30am,”he wrote.

According to local reports, faulty EVM machines in Andhra Pradesh are causing delays in polling with only 6% polling being recorded in some areas, according to local reports

"To all the voters in Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore districts, please go out and vote. Your vote is an opportunity to choose a representative who will espouse our causes and fight our fights in the Lok Sabha for the next five years. So choose wisely," he tweeted.

Around 15 per cent voting was recorded in the first three hours as polling was underway in four Lok Sabha seats and 28 assembly constituencies in the first phase of polls in Odisha on Thursday.

Long queues of voters were seen at polling stations in Koraput, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and Berhampur Lok Sabha constituencies and 28 assembly segments.

Kashmiri Pandits in Udhampur cast their votes for Baramulla parliamentary constituency at a special polling station set-up at Municipal Town Hall. A voter says, "We are migrants here. It's our duty to caste vote. We want to return to Baramulla"

Four Naxals were arrested and three firearms seized from them in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday while polling was underway in the state's Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, a police official said.

Brisk voting was recorded on Thursday in the Jammu Lok Sabha seat during the first two hours while fewer voters were seen in the Baramulla constituency in the Kashmir Valley.

Of the 20,47,079 voters, 7.85 per cent had voted in Jammu till 9 a.m., an official said.

A total of 160,332 voters have voted in the Jammu seat spread over Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch and Samba districts in the first two hours after polling began at 7 a.m., he said.

Life in Kashmir was disrupted Thursday due to a strike called by separatists to protest against polling for first phase of Lok Sabha elections in the Valley and NIA action against Hurriyat Conference leaders and their kin.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed due to the strike while attendance in government and private offices was thin, officials said.

Villagers in Dantewada turnout in large numbers to cast their votes for Lok Sabha Election 2019. On 9th April, BJP MLA Bheema Mandvi and four PSOs lost their lives in a naxal attack in Dantewada.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati urged people to vote on Thursday to bring about major changes in politics.

"Today is the first-phase of 'big change' (mahaparivartan) process," Yadav tweeted.

"Those who want healthy democracy for themselves and their families, want to empower Constitution and protect harmony should come out of their houses and use their right to make this day historic," he said.

Mayawati issued a similar appeal.

Around 14 per cent electorate cast their votes in the first couple of hours of polling in the Naxal-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

At some places, there were reports of EVM snags which were being rectified, an election official in the state capital Raipur told PTI.

"Polling in Bastar seat started at 7 am and is going on smoothly. Till 9.30 am, around 14 per cent polling has been registered," he said.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari cast his vote at polling booth number 220 in Nagpur parliamentary constituency

Nine per cent voter turn out was recorded in Bhandara Gondiya LS constituency in Maharashtra between 7 am and 9 am on Thursday, election officials said.

Polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections is being held in seven constituencies - Nagpur, Wardha, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondiya, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Yavatmal-Washim.

All these constituencies are located in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

Union Minster and the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Gen V.K. Singh from Ghaziabad cast his vote soon after polling began on Thursday in the first phase of the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The Minister of State for External Affairs in the NDA government went to the polling station at Schiller Public School in Raj Nagar accompanied by party workers to exercise his franchise.

Singh is seeking re-election and is locked in a triangular contest with Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party coalition candidate Suresh Bansal, and Congress nominee Dolly Sharma, a young professional with a political lineage.

AIMIM Chief and Hyderabad MP candidate Asaduddin Owaisi casts his vote at a polling booth in the city. He is a three time sitting MP from the constituency

An estimated six per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday expressed his unhappiness over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) not functioning at several polling booths.

Naidu told the media here that polling was delayed at several places as the EVMs were not functioning. He said an EVM was not working where Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi went to cast his vote.

A Jana Sena Party candidate in Andhra Pradesh was arrested after he damaged an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) on Thursday as polling for the 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175-member Assembly was underway in the state.

Madhusudan Gupta threw the EVM on the floor at a polling station in the Guntakal Assembly constituency of Anantapur district, the police said.

Gupta, who had come to cast his vote at the polling station in Gutti, was angry with the polling staff over names of Assembly and Parliament constituencies not being displayed properly.

He lifted the EVM and threw it on the floor. The machine was damaged in the incident. Gupta was immediately arrested after the incident, the police added.

“No 2 Crore JOBS. No 15 Lakhs in Bank A/C. No ACCHE DIN. Instead: No JOBS. DEMONETISATION. Farmers in Pain. GABBAR SINGH TAX. Suit Boot Sarkar. RAFALE. Lies. Lies. Lies. Distrust. Violence. HATE. Fear. You vote today for the soul of India. For her future. Vote wisely,” tweeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Telangana Rashtra Samithi's K Kavitha casts her vote at a polling station in Pothangal, in Nizamabad parliamentary constituency

Voters queued up in considerable numbers at polling stations to exercise their franchise as voting to 91 constituencies and four assemblies began at 7 am on Thursday.

In many places electronic voting machines (EVMs) had glitches resulting in some delay in polling.

Nearly 10 per cent of 78.56 lakh voters cast their votes in the first hour as voting began on Thursday for five seats from Uttarakhand in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, a poll officer said. Voting which began at 7 a.m. will continue till 5 p.m., said Chief Electoral Officer Saujanya.

People were seen queuing up outside the polling booths even before the voting exercise started. There are 52 candidates trying their luck at the hustings. All arrangements have been completed in advance for a "fair and free" election using EVMs with 137 per cent VVPATs (37 per cent reserved), said Saujanya.

"Our forces are on the alert for a peaceful process," said Uttarakhand Director General of Police Anil Raturi speaking about the tight security arrangement made all over the state.

Over 45,000 police and other forces have been deployed, including 16,000 state police personnel, 65 companies of para military forces and 16,000 home guards. There will also be 152 quick response teams (QRTs).

“I'm very confident, people are looking for a change, vote without fear,” says YSR Congress Party Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy after casting his votes in Kadapa

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.

TDP MP candidate from Vijayawada, Kesineni Srinivas castes his vote at a polling booth in St. Joseph Girl's High School, Gunadala, Vijaywada

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family after casting their vote for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Amravati.

Voting stops at Dharampeth School voting booth in Nagpur after VVPAT stops functioning, reports ABP News

Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat queues up to vote for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Devalchaur, Haldwani. Voting on 2 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held on Thursday.

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

Voters queue up to cast their vote for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 at polling booths 15 and 16 in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. Voting on 2 parliamentary constituencies in the state is being held on Thursday.

EVMs failed to work at booth number 153 in Andhra Pradesh’s Raptadu Assembly Constituency.

People queue up outside a polling booth in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam to cast their vote.

Voting also began in five constituencies in Assam, four in Odisha, two in Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu and Baramulla) and one each of Chhattisgarh (Bastar), Manipur (Outer Manipur), and Tripura (Tripura West).

“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,” said PM Narendra Modi.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat after casting his vote for the Nagpur parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 said, Voting is our duty, everyone should vote.

Polling began on Thursday morning in 91 constituencies spread across 18 states and two union territories in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Voting is also underway in 175 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, 32 in Sikkim and 28 seats in Odisha.

Polling in all the Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh (25), Telangana (17), Uttarakhand (5), Meghalaya (2) and Arunachal Pradesh (2) besides lone seats in Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep is being held.

Eight seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Maharashtra, six in Bihar, five in Assam, four in Odisha, two each in Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal and one seat in Chhattisgarh are also going to polls.

Voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats is be held in seven phases: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting will be done on May 23.