Lok Sabha election Phase 2 LIVE: Shoe hurled at BJP's Narasimha Rao during press meet [VIDEO]

Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 begins on Thursday, April 18. 12 states and one Union Territory will vote today for 95 Lok Sabha constituencies. Polls will not be held in Tami Nadu's Vellore, as per the direction of the Election Commission. Polling for Phase 2 Lok Sabha Elections will be held in are Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry.

Voting for Phase 2 elections will begin from 7 am and continue till 6 pm. A total of 1,644 candidates are contesting on 95 seats for the second phase of Lok Sabha election 2019. The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 to choose the 17th Lok Sabha is being conducted across India in seven phases. The first phase of polls was held on April 11 when 20 states and two UT went for polls. The polling dates for general election 2019 are April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Elections 2019 result will be declared on May 23.

Bhola Singh, a BJP candidate from Bulandshahr, has been placed under house arrest after a clip of him went viral on the social media. The video showed the BJP leader campaigning and seeking votes inside a polling station. Bhola Singh was seen walking into the Sharma Inter College polling station and seeking blessings of voters, who had lined up outside the polling booth.

• Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh - 50.39%
• Voter turnout till in Jammu and Kashmir - 38.5%
• Voter turnout in Chhattisgarh - 59.72%
• Voter turnout in West Bengal - 65.43 %
• Voter turnout in Tamil Nadu - 52.02%

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, another Bangladeshi actor, identified as Ghazi Abdul Noor who had attended a political rally in Dumdum in West Bengal, has been asked to leave the country. His visa had expired. Appropriate action is also being taken regarding his overstay in contravention of visa validity.

A 95-year-old man collapsed and later died today while waiting in a queue to cast his vote for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019. He was rushed to the nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav filed nomination from Azamgarh parliamentary constituency today.

An enquiry has been ordered after some voters recorded their voting process at a polling booth and posted it on Facebook. The enquiry has been ordered by the election commission. According to the Election Commission guidelines, voters are not allowed to carry their cell phones within a 100-metre radius of polling booths on the day of voting.

Around 300 faulty EVMs were replaced in Tamil Nadu, as per Chief Election Officer.

• Voter turnout in Tamil Nadu - 39.49%
• Voter turnout in Chhattisgarh - 47%
• Voter turnout in Karnataka- 35.88%
• Voter turnout in Manipur - 49.7%
• Voter turnout in Assam - 40.17%
• Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh - 29.68%
• Voter turnout in Bihar - 22.88%
• Voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir - 18.26%
• Voter turnout in Maharashtra - 22.16%
• Voter turnout in West Bengal - 34.33%
• Voter turnout in Puducherry - 35.27%

A shoe was hurled at BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao during a press conference at BJP headquarter in the national capital.

A tussle broke which out between BJP and TMC supporters in Chopra in Raigunj constituency of West Bengal which led to EVM machines being ransacked in booth number 112.

Here are the visuals:

As per the Election Commission, remember these important things before you step out of home for voting.

A teacher, who was on poll duty at a booth in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, died of a heart attack today. The deceased, Tukalu Ram Nareti, an assistant teacher in a government school, was deputed as the polling officer at Kamta booth (no.186) in Antagarh area of Kanker Lok Sabha constituency where voting was underway. Chhattisgarh is voting today as part of the second phase of the national elections. Results of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be declared on May 23.

BJP leader Kanwar Singh Tanwar alleges fake voting. "Women in burkhas are not being checked for their identity. I heard a man wearing burkha was caught," the BJP MP said.

National Conference leaders - Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah - cast their votes at a polling station in Munshi Bagh area in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Omar Abdullah says, "Now that the Lok Sabha polls are due to conclude, we can only hope that Centre together with the Election Commission gives people of Jammu and Kashmir an elected government which is their right."

• Voter turnout in Tamil Nadu - 30.62%
• Voter turnout in Assam - 26.39%
• Voter turnout in Chhattisgarh - 26.2%
• Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh - 24.31%
• Voter turnout in Bihar - 18.97%
• Voter turnout in Madurai - 18.44%

Raiganj CPM candidate Md Salim's car was pelted with stones at Islampur of North Dinajpur district.

Security personnel lob tear gas shells and lathi charge locals as people block NH-34 in protest after unknown miscreants allegedly prevented them from casting their votes at Digirpar polling booth in Chopra, in Islampur subdivision of North Dinajpur.

Phase 2 in West Bengal: A BJP worker was found dead at Senabona village under Arsha police station of Purulia in West Bengal. The party said 22-year-old Sishu Pal Sahiss's body was found hanging from a tree in the district. He was a BJP Youth Morcha member. Police have rushed to the spot and investigation is underway.

Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief TTV Dinakaran casts his vote at a polling station in Besant Nagar in Chennai South parliamentary constituency.

Election Commission flying squad has seized Rs 11.85 lakh cash in Sion area of Mumbai.

BJP MP Candidate from Mathura, Hema Malini says, "Development in Mathura is all due to my efforts. SP-BSP are only engaged in fighting with each other. There is a huge Modi wave here."

• Tamil Nadu - 13.48 percent
• Karnataka - 7.54 percent
• Bihar - 12.27 percent
• Manipur - 14.99 percent
• Chattisgarh - 13.4 percent

A newly married couple in Jammu and Kashmir arrived at a polling station in Udhampur to cast their votes for the second phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

"As DMK president, I urge all voters to come and vote so as to bring about a change in the government. All of you should vote. I hope people are not influenced by money being distributed by some parties," DMK chief MK Stalin said after casting his vote in Chennai.

A Karnataka police official ordered a one-man team to search the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter, going against the norms of the Election Commission which states that Modi is an SPG protectee and can be exempted from the search. READ FULL REPORT HERE

Tamil Nadu records 0.81 per cent voter turnout till 9 am. A delay in polling has been reported from a few constituencies owing technical glitches with the EVMs.

DMK Lok Sabha candidate from Thoothukudi, Kanimozhi casts her vote at a polling station in Chennai's Alwarpet. Kanimozhi is contesting against Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan.

After casting vote, Kanimozhi said, "People in the opposition have been harassed, raids targeted at opposition candidates. BJP has completely taken over AIADMK." Kanimozhi is currently a Rajya Sabha MP.

Chief Minsiter of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palaniswami casts his vote at a polling station in Edappadi, Selam.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan and his daughter Shruti Haasan queue up outside polling station 27 at Alwarpet Corporation School in Chennai to cast their votes.Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan and his daughter Shruti Haasan queue up outside polling station 27 at Alwarpet Corporation School in Chennai to cast their votes.

Karti Chidambaram, Nalini Chidambaram, and Srinidi Rangarajan cast their vote at a polling station in Karaikudi, Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. This is the first major election happening in Tamil Nadu without the stalwarts - late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa and late DMK leader M Karunanidhi.

A Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine is not working properly at a polling station in Silchar, Assam. Polling officers are trying to fix it.

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth casts his vote at the polling station in Stella Maris College, in Chennai Central parliamentary constituency.

Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram cast his vote at a polling station in Karaikudi, Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 18) morning asked the youngsters of the country to head towards polling booths to vote in the second phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

All is set in Tamil Nadu for the crucial 2019 general elections with about 6 crore voters to decide on the fate of 822 candidates contesting in 38 Lok Sabha constituencies. On Tuesday, the Election Commission rescinded the poll for Vellore Lok Sabha constituency after the Income Tax officials seized unaccounted cash from the cement warehouse of a DMK functionary.

Along with the polls for Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu, byelections for 22 Assembly constituencies will be conducted in the state in two phases. The Election Commission will hold byelections for 18 Assembly constituencies on Thursday, while the remaining four seats will go to polls on May 19.

A total of 269 candidates are in the fray for the byelections.

The results of both - Parliamentary and byelections for 22 Assembly seats will be declared on May 23, deciding the fate of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government and also that of the Tamil Nadu government.

• Tamil Nadu - 38 seats
• Karnataka - 14 seats
• Maharashtra - 10 seats
• Uttar Pradesh 8 seats
• Odisha - 5 seats
• Bihar - 5 seats
• Assam - 5 seats
• West Bengal - 3 seats
• Chhattisgarh - 3 seats
• Jammu and Kashmir - 2 seats
• Manipur - 1 seat
• Puducherry - 1 seat

Six crore voters will vote for 38 parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu exercising their right to vote. Also, the state votes for by-polls to 18 assembly constituencies on Thursday, April 18. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu is essentially a fight between the AIADMK-led alliance, including the BJP, PMK, and DMDK among others, and the Secular Democratic Front (SDF)-led DMK, along with the Congress, VCK, MDMK, and the Left parties.

TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK, Naam Thamilar Katchi, and actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan's MNM are also in the fray.