The second phase of the gigantic Lok Sabha elections will begin today under the shadow of multiple raids involving what the authorities say is a cash-for-votes scam in Tamil Nadu. Elections on 38 Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats of the state will be held today, though polling in the Vellore seat has been cancelled following huge cash haul by Income Tax officials. Elections will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha. Overall, 95 Lok Sabha seats across 11 states and one in the Union Territory of Puducherry are going to polls today, in which electoral fortunes of four union ministers and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will be decided. The counting of votes for the seven-phase election, which ends on May 19, will be held on May 23.
