Lok Sabha election 2019: Phase 1 voting starts today; here's how to vote

The voting process in 91 Lok Sabha seats spread across 18 states and two union territories has started for the Phase 1 Lok Sabha election. The voting commenced at 7 am in the morning today and will continue till 6 pm in the evening. The timings to give vote may vary in the northeastern states. For instance, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura West can exercise their franchise between 7am-5pm, while Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya will go to polls between 7am-4pm.

The big faces that are going to contest today in the first phase of Lok Sabha election are five union ministers-Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West), Satyapal Singh (Baghpat), General VK Singh (Ghaziabad), and Mahesh Sharma (Gautam Buddha Nagar),Nitin Gadkari(Nagpur). Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary are also in fray.

Polling in all the Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh (25), Telangana (17), Uttarakhand (5), Meghalaya (2) , Assam (5), Jammu a nd Kashmir (2) Maharashtra (7) and Arunachal Pradesh (2) besides lone seats in Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep are underway.

Also read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Phase 1 voting on April 11; FAQs, polling in 91 seats

The 17th Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases starting April 11, followed by counting of votes on May 23. The elections to the world's largest democracy will be held for 543 seats on nearly 10 lakh polling booths across the country.

Also read: Lok Sabha election 2019: Phase 1 of voting starts tomorrow; watch live TV coverage on polling

In order to cast your vote, all you need to have is voter identity card issued by the Election Commission of India with names on the electoral rolls. Therefore, it is important to check whether your name is present on the voter list or not ahead of the elections.

Also Read: Complete list of state wise Lok Sabha election 2019 dates: EC announces 7-phase poll, result on May 23

How you can vote in Lok Sabha election 2019

You can vote only if your name appears in the Voter List (also known as Electoral Roll). Voters can also find information on Polling Booths, Contesting candidates, Election Dates & Timings, Identity cards and EVM.

Voting process at polling booth

• First polling official will check your name on the voter list and check your ID proof
• Second polling official will ink your finger, give you a slip and take your signature on a register (Form 17A)
• You will have to deposit the slip at the third polling official and show your inked finger and then proceed to the polling booth
• Record your vote by pressing the ballot button opposite the symbol of the candidate of your choice on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM); You will hear a beep sound
• Check the slip that appears in the transparent window of the VVPAT machine. The slip with the Candidate serial No., Name and Symbol shall be visible for 7 seconds before it drops in the sealed VVPAT box
•  You can press NOTA, None of the Above, if you don't like any candidate; it's the last button on the EVM
• For more information, please see the Voter Guide on http://ecisveep.nic.in/

NOTE: Mobile phones, cameras or any other gadget is not allowed inside a polling booth.

Where to vote: find your polling booth

Voters can go to electoralsearch.in or use Voter Helpline App to find their polling booth

Voters can call the Voter Helpline, the number is 1950 (please add your STD code before dialling)

For Polling station location SMS space to 1950

How to use EVM

EVM stands for Electronic Voting Machine and VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). Click to see video for how to vote using EVM VVPAT

Don't have voter ID card? Don't worry, here are other identy proof which you can use to give vote:

• EPIC (Voter ID card)
• Passport
• Driving License
• Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt./PSUs/Public Limited Companies
• Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office
• PAN Card
• Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR
• MNREGA Job Card (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee)
• Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour
• Pension document with photograph
• Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs
• Aadhaar Card

Here's how to check your name on the voter's list

Step 1: Log on to the National Voter Services Portal's Electoral Search page (NVSP).

Step 2: You can check your name on the voter's list by entering your details or by putting in your Electoral Photo ID Card (EPIC) number.

In case you don't have Voter Identity Card

Step 1: Log on to the NSVP Electoral Search page.

Step 2: Click on search by details and put up your details, such as name, gender, age, Assembly Constituency, etc as mentioned on the page.

Step 3: Based on your details, a result will pop up which will mean that your name is in the voter's list. In case, there is no pop-up, it means your name is probably missing on the voter's list.

The Election Commission of India has launched Voter Helpline Mobile app to provide convenience of finding names in the electoral roll, submitting online forms, checking the status of the application, filing complaints and receiving the reply on their mobile app. All forms, results, candidate affidavit, press notes, voter awareness and important instructions are available through the mobile app.

Users can also call 1950 and obtain information about voter details in the electoral roll, check for the status of enrollment application and also lodge grievance.

Also Read: No Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir now, only Parliamentary polls: CEC Sunil Arora

Also read: Complete list of state-wise Lok Sabha election 2019 dates: EC announces 7-phase poll, result on May 23

Also read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar