BJP president Amit Shah tweets to young voters to vote envisioning a progressive future, as Phase 2 begins

The second phase of Lok Sabha polls is underway in 12 states and 1 union territory on Thursday. With 95 Lok Sabha seats in the fray and 52 of them belonging to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, phase two is a battle for the southern vote. Tamil Nadu, where all 38 Lok Sabha seats are going to polls, is where the BJP-AIADMK-PMK alliance is clashing with DMK-Congress duo.

Encouraging young voters to envision the progressive future of India in land, water, sky, and space, BJP president Amit Shah has tweeted:

Earlier, PM Modi had also sent out a message highlighting the express duty of citizens to vote, tweeting:

While the original schedule of the second phase had declared that 97 seats were going to polls, the Election Commission of India earlier cancelled polling in Tamil Nadu's Vellore as well as the Tripura East constituency. Meanwhile, all the rest 38 out of 39 of Tamil Nadu (except Vellore) will go to polls in the second phase, with several other seats from Uttar Pradesh (8 seats), Bihar (5 seats), Karnataka (14 seats), Maharashtra (10 seats), Assam (5 seats), Odisha (5 seats), Chhatisgarh (3 seats), West Bengal (3 seats), West Bengal (3 seats), J&K (2 seats), Manipur ( 1 seat), Puducherry (1 seat)

The polls will see seats from where high profile candidates are contending: 

Deve Gowda (JD), BK Hariprasad (Congress), PC Mohan (BJP), Yashwant Singh (BJP), Raj Babbar (Congress), Hema Malini (BJP), SP Singh Baghel (BJP), Maharaj Kumari Pragya Debburman (Congress), Farooq Abdullah (NC), Syed Mohsin (PDP), Mohammad Salim (CPM), Ashok Chavan (Congress)

Voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.