On Monday, voters from 49 constituencies across six states and two Union Territories are casting their ballots in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Polling is underway for five parliamentary seats in Bihar, three in Jharkhand, thirteen in Maharashtra, five in Odisha, fourteen in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, and one each in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Key candidates in this phase include prominent Union Ministers and opposition leaders. Union Minister Piyush Goyal is contesting from Mumbai North, Smriti Irani from Amethi and Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.
On the opposition front, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi is defending his mother Sonia Gandhi’s stronghold in Raebareli. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is running in Baramulla, while RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya is contesting from Saran. Additionally, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Arvind Sawant is in the fray for Mumbai South.
Till 9 am, 10.28 percent voters had voted across all the constituencies in the eight states and Union Territories. By 11 am, it rose to 23 percent and by 3 pm it barely managed to reach 36.73 percent. While till 11 am West Bengal was leading with the highest voter turnout, by 1 pm, leading the pack was Ladakh at 52.02 percent.
West Bengal was behind Ladakh at 48.41 percent voter turnout, followed by Jharkhand (41.89 percent), Uttar Pradesh (39.55 percent), Odisha (35.31 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (34.79 percent), Bihar (34.62 percent) and Maharashtra (27.78 percent).
The tides turned once again and by the end of the day, West Bengal registered the highest voter turnout at 73 percent. The state was followed by Ladakh (67.15 percent), Jharkhand (63 percent), Odisha (60.87 percent), Uttar Pradesh (57.79 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (55.09 percent), Bihar (52.93 percent) and Maharashtra (49.15 percent)
Lok Sabha fifth phase: All you need to know
The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 witnessed intense contests in several high-profile seats, with many prominent ministers and leaders in the fray. After a dip in voter turnout during the first three phases, the fourth phase saw a notable increase in participation. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the overall turnout across the four phases so far is 66.95 percent as of May 16.
Today’s voting includes 49 Lok Sabha seats and 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha. Over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore men, 4.26 crore women, and 5,409 third-gender electors, are eligible to vote in this phase. Among these voters are over 7.81 lakh individuals aged 85 and above, and 24,792 voters who are over 100 years old.
To manage the voting process, around 9.47 lakh polling officials have been deployed across 94,732 polling stations.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured 32 of the seats voting today, while its allies won 7 seats. The BJP achieved a vote share of more than 40 percent in at least 30 of these constituencies. The Congress, on the other hand, won only one seat, Raebareli, among the 49 seats in the previous elections. The Congress’s allies, including the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, captured seven seats. Overall, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 39 seats, and the INDIA bloc parties won eight seats, with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) claiming the remaining two seats.
With today’s voting, elections for more than three-fourths of the 543 Lok Sabha seats (428 seats) is complete. The remaining two phases of voting will take place on May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes for all seven phases will be conducted on June 4.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), aiming for a record third term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has set an ambitious target of winning 400 seats in this election. They are facing a strong challenge from opposition parties united under the banner of the INDIA bloc, led by the Congress.
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