In the 7th phase of world's largest democratic exercise involving a staggering 814 million voters, 89 Lok Sabha seats spread over seven States and two Union Territories will go to polls on Wednesday.
These include all 26 seats in Gujarat, 17 seats in Andhra Pradesh, all 13 in Punjab, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 9 in West Bengal , 7 in Bihar and one each in Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Here’s a look at the weather conditions in these states.
Campaigning for the 30th April Lok Sabha Elections, which witnessed heavy offloading of allegations and counter allegations between parties, mainly Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to an end on Monday.
Jammu & Kashmir, the northern part of the country, is the only place at present to still remain cool and comfortable. Maximum in Srinagar will remain around 26°C today as no rain or cloud cover is expected. Though Srinagar is the comfort zone weather-wise, the political scenario remains heated up as Union minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said while campaigning that Kashmir will not be part of a communal state and that those who “vote for Modi should jump into the sea”.
Punjab- Coming down to the plains of North India, Punjab which was comfortable till 28th of April, saw a steep rise in temperatures yesterday.Maximums exceeded 40°C for the first time this season in several places including Amritsar, Patiala and Ludhiana.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar- Going towards the eastern side of the country, one can experience extreme temperatures in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and most places in Bihar are extremely hot with maximums exceeding 40°C with no possibility of rain.
Gujrat- According to latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, this state at present is sizzling hot with places like Ahmedabad and Rajkot both recording maximums above 42°C. Today, while casting their valuable votes, people in few pockets could experience heat waves. Narendra Modi's Gujarat has been relatively silent as their leader has been spending most of his time in the rest of the country, but here BJP still expects a clean sweep. The coastal stations in Saurashtra and Kutch like Jamnagar and Porbandar will be better off with maximums in mid-thirties. However, humidity during the peak voting hours will make conditions rather uncomfortable.
West Bengal- Here voting is taking place in 9 Lok Sabha constituencies including Howrah, Hoogly and Birbhum. Maximum recorded in Kolkata yesterday was 38.2°C and little rise is expected today. Rest of the places will remain hot and humid with no chances of rain.
Andhra Pradesh- In Telangana, the polls are being held for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 State Assembly constituencies.
According to latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, some cloud cover could be seen over Telangana which is mitigating the heat to some extent but not take it away completely. Maximums in Nizamabad, Ramagundam along with other places close by are above 40°C at present. Very light precipitation is possible but only when the polls are almost over.
Today Lok Sabha Elections are being held in the exclaves of Daman and Diu on the Arabian Sea coast. Balloting for the lone Lok Sabha seat of Dadra and Nagar Haveli also began. These Union Territories will remain warm and humid.
picture courtesy- Shajiullah Firasat
