The intense campaigning for the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections concluded on Wednesday evening, with top leaders from both the BJP-led NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc making final efforts to sway voters.
This marks the beginning of a 48-hour silence period before polling day on April 26, which will see voting in 88 constituencies across 12 states and Union Territories, including the remaining part of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency.
According to the Election Commission of India, a total of 1,206 candidates from 12 States and UTs, along with four candidates from Outer Manipur, are set to contest in this phase. Initially, 2,633 nominations were filed for the 88 parliamentary constituencies, with 1,428 deemed valid after scrutiny. The last date for withdrawal of candidature was April 8.
Key constituencies like Wayanad, where Rahul Gandhi is contesting, and Thiruvananthapuram, where Shashi Tharoor faces Rajeev Chandrasekhar, are notable battlegrounds in the second phase. Leaders such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi actively canvassed for their candidates.
Kerala leads with 500 nominations from 20 constituencies, followed by Karnataka with 491 nominations from 14 PCs. Tripura received the least with 14 nominations, while the Nanded Parliamentary Constituency in Maharashtra received the highest at 92 nominations.
In Assam, there will be 47 candidates vying for votes in the four Lok Sabha seats including the capital Guwahati in the third phase of polling, an official statement said.
The highest number of candidates, that is, 14 will be contesting from Barpeta followed by 13 in Dhubri, 12 in Kokrajhar, and eight in Guwahati. On the last day, five candidates, three in Kokrajhar and two in Dhubri withdrew their nominations, the statement added.
BJP has pitted Bijuli Kalita Medhi against Congress' Mira Borthakur Goswami in Guwahati. The minority-dominated Dhubri seat is set for a three-way tussle between AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, Congress' Rakibul Hussain and NDA ally AGP candidate Zaved Islam.
The first phase covered 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs, with ten fully covered and eleven partially covered.
