New Delhi: Voting commenced for 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories, including all the seven seats in Delhi, in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections Saturday.
Besides the national capital, polling is underway in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Simultaneously, polling is being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and the Karnal assembly bypoll in Haryana.
Voting began at 7am and people were seen queuing up at polling stations.
Over 11.13 crore voters — 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5,120 third gender — are eligible to exercise their franchise. The Election Commission (EC) has deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar, BJP’s Maneka Gandhi, Sambit Patra, Manohar Lal Khattar and Manoj Tiwari, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar and Kanhaiya Kumar.
Over 57% electors exercise their right to vote till 5pm
A voter turnout of 57.70 per cent was recorded till 5pm Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Till 5pm, West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 77.99 per cent while Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout at 51.35 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 52.02 per cent, Jharkhand 61.41 per cent, Bihar 52.24 per cent, Delhi 53.73 per cent, Odisha 59.60 per cent and Haryana 55.93 per cent, the EC data showed.
West Bengal: BJP candidate Pranat Tudu ‘attacked’ in Jhargram
Senior BJP leader and its Jhargram candidate Pranat Tudu Saturday claimed his convoy was attacked in Garbeta area of West Midnapore district, following which security personnel escorting him were injured and had to be hospitalised.
The incident took place when Tudu was on his way to Garbeta in the wake of complaints that BJP agents were not allowed inside some polling booths.
“All of a sudden, TMC goons who had blocked the roads started hurling bricks at my car. When my security personnel tried to intervene, they were injured. Two CISF jawans accompanying me received head injuries and had to be hospitalised,” Tudu said.
Over 49% voters exercise their franchise till 3pm
A voter turnout of 49.20 per cent was recorded till 3pm Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Till 3pm, West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 70.19 per cent while Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout at 44.41 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 43.95 per cent, Jharkhand 54.34 per cent, Bihar 45.21 per cent, Delhi 44.58 per cent, Odisha 48.44 per cent and Haryana 46.26 per cent, the EC data showed.
Brinda Karat alleges EVM glitch
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat alleged she had to wait for almost an hour to cast her vote as the battery of the EVM control unit at her polling booth “drained out”. The District Election Officer later said the battery was replaced within 15 minutes.
Over 39% voter turnout recorded till 1pm
A voter turnout of 39.13 per cent was recorded till 1pm Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Till 1pm, West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 54.80 per cent while Delhi recorded the lowest turnout at 34.37 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 37.23 per cent, Jharkhand 42.54 per cent, Bihar 36.48 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 35.22 per cent, Odisha 35.69 per cent and Haryana 36.48 per cent, the EC data showed.
Over 25% electors exercise their franchise till 11am
A voter turnout of 25.76 per cent was recorded till 11am Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout in the first four hours of polling at 36.88 per cent while Odisha recorded the lowest at 21.30 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 27.06 per cent, Jharkhand 27.80 per cent, Bihar 23.67 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 23.11 per cent, Delhi 21.69 per cent and Haryana 22.09 per cent, the EC data showed.
India logs 10.82% voter turnout till 9am
A voter turnout of 10.82 per cent was recorded till 9am Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout in the first two hours of polling at 16.54 per cent while Odisha recorded the lowest at 7.43 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 12.33 per cent, Jharkhand 11.74 per cent, Bihar 9.66 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 8.89 per cent, Delhi 8.94 per cent and Haryana 8.31 per cent, the EC data showed.
President Murmu, Gandhis, Jaishankar among early voters
In the national capital, President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi minister Atishi, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and outgoing East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir were among the early voters.
Mehbooba sits on dharna
Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, Mehbooba Mufti sat on a dharna Saturday alleging that her party workers had been arrested to prevent their participation in the voting process.
Mufti blocked the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in Bijbehara area after she sat on a dharna on the highway.
Mufti, who is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir, claimed that outgoing calls on her mobile number have been suspended.
Bengal’s hotspot region goes to polls
In West Bengal, voting will be held in the tribal belt Jangal Mahal region, spanning five districts. A hotspot for identity politics, the region sends eight representatives to Lok Sabha from Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur seats. Out of the eight seats, the BJP won five and TMC bagged three in the 2019 polls.
An interesting fight is on the cards in Delhi with the BJP and INDIA bloc partners Congress and AAP pitted in a direct, one-on-one contest in all the seven seats.
EC directs officials to beat the heat
With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, the EC has directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.
Till now, voting has been completed in 25 states and Union territories and 428 constituencies out of 543. The last phase of polling is scheduled June 1 and counting of votes will be taken up June 4.
Agencies