The first phase of voting in the world’s biggest election ended on April 19 after millions of voters in parts of the 21 states and Union Territories in India headed to the polls. Here are the states which witnessed the highest and the lowest voter turnout in this phase till 9:00 pm (local time):
The Indian state of Tripura topped the list with an estimated 80.17 per cent voters participating in the first phase of the general elections, according to the data by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
With the second-highest voter turnout in the first phase, the voting in the Indian state of West Bengal was marred by political violence Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) party workers accused each other of hurting polling personnel.
The Indian state voted in the first and only phase of the general elections since Meghalaya has only two Lok Sabha constituencies. It witnessed the third-highest voter turnout as around more than 74 per cent people headed to the polls.
The India state witnessed the fourth lowest voter turnout in the first phase where six candidates contested for the lone seat. For this election, 8.5 million voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the state.
Around 54.06 per cent of voters headed to the polls in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and it witnessed the second lowest turnout in phase one. It is also seen as a pivotal swing state with five Lok Sabha seats and has considerable influence on the composition of the lower house of Parliament.
Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats and is seen as one of the most significant states in Indian politics, saw the lowest voter turnout in the first phase where polls were held in four constituencies.