

New Delhi: India will go for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections tomorrow in a high-stakes battle across 13 states and union territories with the campaign marked by sharp jibes by the leaders of BJP as also by Congress and other opposition parties.
The second phase has 88 Lok Sabha constituencies including all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and one each in Tripura, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.
Voting will begin at 7 am tomorrow and will conclude at 6 pm. The Lok Sabha election is being held in seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted June 4.
The second phase of polling was to be held on 89 seats but it has been deferred to May 7 in Betul in Madhya Pradesh due to death of BSP candidate.
Several opposition parties have come together to form INDIA bloc to put up common candidates against the BJP.
Interesting battles are lined up in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls and some prominent personalities are also in the fray. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is re-contesting from Wayanad. In Thiruvananthapuram, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is seeking fourth successive term. Battles in Rajasthan in the second phase of polls include two union ministers, a former Assembly Speaker and sons of two former chief ministers.
Actor-turned-politician Hema Malini is again in the fray from Mathura. Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is contesting from Rajnandgaon, DK Suresh from Bangalore Rural, and Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South.
The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election, the world’s largest electoral exercise, was held on April 19 on 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout was registered was over 62 per cent. The third phase election will be held on May 7.
The states and seats going to the polls tomorrow are:
Assam (five of total 14 seats) – Karimganj, Silchar, Mangaldoi, Nawgong, Kaliabor
Bihar (five out of total 40 seats) – Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Banka
Chhattisgarh (three out of total 11 seats) – Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker
Jammu and Kashmir – Jammu
Karnataka (14 of total 28 seats) – Udupi Chikamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikballapur, Kolar.
Kerala (all 20 seats) – Kasaragod, Kannur, Vatakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram
Madhya Pradesh (six of 29 seats) – Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Betul
Maharashtra (8 of 48 seats) – Buldhana, Akola, Amravati (SC), Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani
Manipur – Outer Manipur)
Rajasthan (13 out of total 25 seats) Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, Jhalawar-Baran
Tripura – Tripura East
Uttar Pradesh (8 out of total 80 seats) – Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura, Bulandshahr
West Bengal (3 out of total 42 seats) – Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat
An estimated 16 crore voters including 8.08 male, 7.8 crore female voters and 5,929 third gender electors are eligible to vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, according to the Election Commission.
Key candidates and constituencies in Phase 2
Of the 20 constituencies in Kerala going to polls on Friday, two seats -Alathur and Mavelikara- are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
In Karnataka , polling will be held on 14 seats and bypoll will be held in Surpur (Shorapur) constituency located in Yadgir district.
Some of the key seats include:
1.Mandya: Former Chief Minister and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy is pitted against Congress’s Venkataramane Gowda (Star Chandru).
In Assam , five out of total 14 seats are headed for polls on April 26. Some of the key seats include:
In Bihar , five of total 40 seats will go in for polls on April 26.
In Chhattisgarh , voting will be held in three seats out of a total 11 seats
In Madhya Pradesh , six out of total 29 seats will face polls on April 26. Key constitutes include
In Maharashtra , eight of the 48 seats are going to the polls in the second phase.
In Rajasthan , the Lok Sabha election will be completed on April 26 with voting on 13 remaining seats. Key constituencies include
2.Tonk-Sawai Madhopur: Harish Chadra Meena of BJP is pitted against Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria of the Congress
In Uttar Pradesh , voters will elect their representatives from eight seats on Friday.
Some of the key seats are:
Three seats in North of West Bengal , of the total 42 seats in the state, will to to the polls on April 26.
In Jammu Lok Sabha constituency, sitting BJP MP Jugal Kishore is contesting against Congress candidate Raman Bhalla.
In East Tripura , BJP candidate Kriti Devi Debbarman is facing INDIA bloc nominee Rajendra Reang.
Voting will be held in Outer Manipur’s 13 assembly segments on April 26.
In the first phase, 15 assembly segments of Outer Manipur along with 32 assembly segments of Inner Manipur had gone to the polls on April 19.