The first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha election has begun in 18 states. With the break of dawn, voting kicked off in 91 constituencies across 18 states and two union territories. Voting is also underway in 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, 32 in Sikkim and 28 seats in Odisha
Hyderabad: Polling in all the Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh (25), Telangana (17), Uttarakhand (5), Meghalaya (2), Arunachal Pradesh (2) and one seat each in Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep is underway.
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.
Also read — Andhra Assembly, LS elections: From polling booths to candidates, here is all you need to know
Over 14 crore voters will decide the fate of about 1,279 candidates who are in the fray.
The Election Commission stated that over 7,700 third gender voters will be exercising their franchise in the first phase.
A statement issued by the Election Commission read that more than 1 lakh booths have been set up across the country.
Also read: Quick check of states going to polls on April 11
Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora urged the nation to come together and cast their votes in order to strengthen democracy.
Arora spoke to news agency ANI and said that he humbly requests more people to come forward to vote and strengthen democracy.
"Our efforts will be fructified if each one of us who is an elector shows adequate zeal and faith in the democratic system," said Arora.
The Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements for the Lok Sabha elections. Tight vigil is being maintained at interstate borders.
Voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
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