Day: April 19, 2024

Amid the fervour of Lok Sabha election 2024 in Uttar Pradesh, the elderly retiree Ravindra Singh Chaudhary spends his evenings locked in his sparse two-bedroom flat in Mahavir Chowk of Muzaffarnagar city. Located bang opposite an active railway line, Chaudhary’s train of thought is often interrupted by the grating squeals of actual trains passing at breakneck speed outside his window, even as he spends most of his evenings scribbling psephological calculations and percentages on a little notepad. He then sends the results of his laboured calculations to his friends and…

The first phase of polling for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories began today, April 19, at 7 AM. The Election Commission of India has made all preparations to welcome voters to the biggest festival of democracy that any nation has witnessed. Over 18 lakh polling officials stand ready to facilitate the participation of more than 16.63 crore voters across 1.87 lakh polling stations. In the phase 1 polling, voters include 8.4 crore males, 8.23 crore females and 11,371 third-gender electors. Notably, 35.67 lakh first-time voters…