Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 5 Voting: Voting is currently taking place in 49 constituencies spread across six states and two Union territories in phase 5 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, on May 20.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has encouraged women and young voters to participate actively, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has remarked that a transformative wave is engulfing the nation.
Polling, which commenced at 7 am, is underway in Uttar Pradesh (14 seats), Maharashtra (13 seats), West Bengal (7 seats), Bihar (5 seats), Odisha (5 seats), Jharkhand (3 seats), and one seat each in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
In the ongoing fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, there’s notable competition on numerous high-profile seats, with many prominent ministers and leaders vying for victory. Following a decrease in voter turnout during the initial three phases, there was a notable increase in the fourth phase.
As of 9 am, the Election Commission of India reported a voter turnout of 10.28% across the 49 constituencies participating in phase 5 of the Lok Sabha Elections. West Bengal recorded the highest turnout with 15%, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 12.89% and Jharkhand with 11.68%.
According to a statement from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 16, the cumulative turnout across the four phases of polling thus far stands at 66.95 percent.
Among the notable candidates contesting in various constituencies are Rahul Gandhi (Rae Bareli, UP), Smriti Irani (Amethi, UP), Rajnath Singh (Lucknow, UP), Karan Bhushan Singh (Kaiserganj, UP), Rohini Acharya (Saran, Bihar), Chirag Paswan (Hajipur, Bihar), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North), Ujjwal Nikam (Mumbai North-Central), and Omar Abdullah (Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir).
In addition to the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha are also participating in the voting process today. Over 8.95 cr voters, comprising 4.69 cr men, 4.26 cr women, and 5,409 third-gender electors, are eligible to cast their votes in the fifth phase. Notably, there are over 7.81 lakh registered voters aged 85 and above, including 24,792 individuals over 100 years old.
A total of around 9.47 lakh polling officials have been stationed at 94,732 polling stations for today’s electoral proceedings.
Regarding the Lok Sabha seats up for voting in phase 5, the BJP secured victory in 32 seats in the 2019 elections, while its allies clinched 7 seats. The BJP garnered a vote share exceeding 40% in at least 30 of these seats.
In the 2019 elections, the Congress secured only one seat, which was Raebareli, out of the 49 seats contested. Its coalition partners, including the TMC led by Mamata Banerjee, managed to win seven seats. -Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 5 Voting
In total, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinched 39 seats, whereas the parties under the INDIA bloc secured eight seats out of the 49 constituencies voting today. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) secured the remaining two seats in the 2019 elections.
Today’s voting in 49 seats marks the completion of elections for over three-fourths of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, with 428 seats already contested by the fifth phase. The remaining two phases are scheduled for May 25 and June 1, with the vote counting for all seven phases set to take place on June 4.
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In its quest for a historic third term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has set an ambitious target of securing 400 seats in the upcoming election. However, this goal is being vigorously contested by opposition parties, spearheaded by the Congress, and united under the banner of the INDIA bloc.