Turnout of nearly 61% in the latest figures reported from the 88 seats voting in phase 2 of the Lok Sabha polls.

Nearly 61% voter turnout in the second phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections was recorded in the round 2 of the 7-phase elections which kicked off on Friday, with 88 constituencies across 13 states/UTs going to polls.

Elections were held in all 20 constituencies of Kerala, 14 seats in Karnataka, 5 seats in Bihar, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh and 5 seats in West Bengal besides other states.

The prominent contestants in the fray for the second phase are Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, Hema Malini and Arun Govil, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh, former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, celebrities and businessmen, queued up outside polling booths throughout the day to cast their vote in the biggest democratic exercise in the world.