Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Highlights, violations, suspensions and celebs

A presiding officer in the Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh was suspended on Friday after he clicked photographs inside a polling booth and shared them on WhatsApp.

Ratan Dagor was on duty at a polling station in the Pananagar Assembly segment under the Jabalpur parliamentary constituency.

As per official sources, Dagor clicked photographs inside the polling booth and shared them on WhatsApp, which is a violation of the election rules.

Meanwhile, 45 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 p.m. in the six Lok Sabha constituencies where polling is being held in the first phase on Friday -- Chhindwara, Balaghat, Mandla, Sidhi, Shahdol, and Jabalpur.

5 Poll officials suspended in Kerala

In another event, Kannur District Election Officer (DEO) and four others in Kerala ware suspended  for dereliction of duty after it was found that a CPI-M polling agent helped a 92-year-old woman cast her vote from home.

According to the election rules, voters above the age of 85 can vote from their homes.

The incident took place on Thursday at the residence of Devi (92), which falls under Booth No. 164 in the Kasargod Lok Sabha constituency in Kannur district. In some visuals that have surfaced, local CPI-M leader Ganeshan could be seen helping the woman cast her vote. As per the rules, polling agents of any party cannot assist voters in exercising their franchise.

Those suspended include a special polling officer, polling assistant, micro observer, special police officer, and the videographer.

World's shortest woman casts vote

Heads turned and people smiled as the world's shortest woman, Jyoti Kishanji Amge, turned up to cast her vote in the Lok Sabha elections, in Nagpur on Friday morning. A beaming but tad shy, Jyoti – who is all of 62.8 cm (2 feet, ¾ inch) tall – arrived with her family members carrying her in arms to avoid the huge crowds at the polling station in a school near her home.

As soon as she reached the venue, attired in a glowing red Barbie-style dress, wearing blood-red lipstick and some trinkets on her fingers and wrists, the paparazzi virtually mobbed her till she entered the polling booth, giggling at all the commotion and attention lavished on her.

"This is my second Lok Sabha election voting, and I have already voted twice, even for the Maharashtra Assembly elections... I always exercise my right to vote and it is also my duty to the country," a thrilled Jyoti told IANS after casting her vote, proudly displaying her tiny inked finger to the media.

Incidentally, on her 18th birthday on December 16, 2011, Jyoti was officially declared the shortest living woman on the planet by the Guinness World Records, catapulting her to instant stardom, and making her a darling of India's Orange City. Her vertical growth is stunted owing to a genetic condition called 'primordial dwarfism'.

Sitting MP misses voting second time

BJP's sitting Lok Sabha member from Jalpaiguri constituency in West Bengal, Dr Jayanta Kumar Roy, who is seeking re-election, was not able to vote for himself. Even in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he was unable to vote for himself.

This is because despite being a candidate from Jalpaiguri he is a voter from the adjacent Darjeeling constituency. "I cannot help it but surely it is a matter of pain for me that I am unable to vote for myself," said Roy while interacting with the media persons as he was hopping from one place to another while the polling for Jalpaiguri was taking place.

Trisha Krishnan flaunts her inked index finger

The 'South Queen' Trisha Krishnan on Friday shared a glimpse of her index finger, with the snap displaying the date "19/04/24" after casting her vote.

Trisha patiently made her way through the security and camerapersons to reach the booth, where she proudly displayed her inked index finger after casting her vote.

Taking to Instagram stories, Trisha shared a glimpse of her snap and also shared a picture of her grandmother exercising her franchise at her residence, captioned "Paati".

(With inputs from IANS)