Lok Sabha polls 2024 - billed by the BJP as a milestone to 2047 and the Opposition as a battle for democracy's survival begins today. In the first of the 7-phase exercise, voting will be held for 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories.

The first phase of polls is being held on all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (8), Madhya Pradesh (6), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1). Besides, there will be five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.

Four states - Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will also pick new assemblies alongside this Lok Sabha election. Of these, Arunachal Pradesh (60 seats) and Sikkim (32) are first down today.

Backed by a high-octane campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the BJP is aiming to win 370 of 543 Lok Sabha seats, a steep rise from its score of 2019. The Prime Minister has set the NDA a target of 400.

The Opposition bloc INDIA, which mostly made headlines over its disarray in the run-up to the polls, especially with the defection of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been standing together following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case. Even so, in multiple pockets, the parties are up against each other, flouting the rule of one-on-one contests they guaranteed would push the BJP out.

Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers, one former governor and a number of key leaders are in the fray today, making for scintillating contests in more than 20 seats.

The big violators are Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which has entered its candidates against the Congress not just in Bengal but a few northeastern states as well. The other is Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, which has done the same in Punjab and elsewhere, despite having a seat sharing agreement with the Congress in Delhi.