After the mock polling at 5:30 am, the actual polling began at 7 am, an official said. According to official sources, a polling percentage of 9.51 was recorded in the first hour.
The commission has directed all the State Governments to transfer the officers connected with election-related work, who have completed three years or are in their home districts.
The Left Parties' alliance has announced candidates for all the LS 20 seats in Kerala, including Wayanad, which is represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
BJP's current situation in various Parliamentary segments in Telangana makes it appear difficult for the saffron party even to retain its four sitting seats
Citing the state-specific stand taken on the Cauvery issue by the Congress and BJP in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Palaniswami said this is the politics of national parties. The voice of Tamil Nadu people would echo in the Parliament and only to safeguard the rights of the people of the state, his party decided to separately fight the LS polls, he told reporters here.
The BJP had swept the 2019 LS polls in Karnataka by winning 25 seats, while an independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won in one seat. The Congress and JD(S) won one seat each.
