Voters wait in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station during the sixth phase of Lok Sabha election, in New Delhi, on Saturday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan
New Delhi, May 25
An estimated voter turnout of 59.92 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.27.
Incidents of violence, including an alleged assault on a BJP candidate, minor clashes and protests were reported from West Bengal while there were instances of EVM malfunctioning at some places, including Delhi.
Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 63.30 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 54.03 per cent, Bihar 55.24 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 53.38 per cent, Haryana 59.43 per cent, Odisha 61.44 and Delhi 56.12 per cent, according to the figures updated at 10.30 pm by the EC on its voter turnout app.
The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.
With the conclusion of this phase, polling is now complete in 486 seats in 28 states and Union territories. The last of the seven phases of polling in 57 seats is scheduled on June 1 and counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, arrangements for cold water, coolers, fans and tents were made at several polling stations. Wheelchairs were also kept for the assistance of elderly voters.
The EC had directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.
Over 11.13 crore voters -- 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5120 third gender -- were eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase. The Election Commission (EC) deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir, staged a sit-in outside Bijbehara police station on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in Anantnag district against alleged detention of her party workers and polling agents. She also claimed outgoing calls on her mobile number were suspended.
Police, however, said those detained were overground workers and the action was taken to ensure smooth conduct of elections.
Mehbooba’s daughter and PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged polling was deliberately slowed down at a booth in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, a charge denied by the administration.
In the national capital, President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Atishi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were among those who cast their votes.
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.
Besides all the seven seats of Delhi, polling was held 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 was being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and the Karnal assembly bypoll in Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged voters to exercise their right to franchise in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections in large numbers.
In Haryana, BJP’s Karnal Lok Sabha seat candidate Manohar Lal Khattar and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is contesting the Karnal assembly bypoll, were among the first to cast their votes at their respective booths.
Saini, accompanied by his family members, cast his vote in his native Mirjapur Majra village in Ambala district’s Naraingarh. Khattar exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Karnal’s Prem Nagar.
In West Bengal, voting was 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.
BJP’s Jhargram candidate Pranat Tudu claimed his convoy was attacked in Garbeta area of Paschim Medinipur district, following which security personnel escorting him were injured and had to be hospitalised. Tudu also received injuries on his forehead, which needed medical attention.
Minor clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling TMC and BJP in the Ghatal constituency over stopping polling agents from entering the booths.
In the Midnapore constituency, BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul faced “go back” slogans from TMC activists. Subsequently, a scuffle broke out between BJP and TMC activists, following which central forces reached the spot to disperse the mob.
A group of people shouted slogans against BJP candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay when he reached the polling booth in Tamluk.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling was held for Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi seats.
Around 82.16 lakh voters, including 40.09 lakh females, were eligible to exercise their franchise in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur constituencies of Jharkhand.
In a bid to increase polling percentage in urban booths of Ranchi, the district administration tied up with a bike-taxi aggregator to provide free pick-and-drop facilities to voters.
In Bihar, 86 candidates are in the fray in the eight seats of Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali.
Officials said 107 people were arrested or detained in the state for causing disruptions and attempting to hinder the voting process. Security forces seized Rs 2.86 crore in cash and 3.53 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 9.46 crore from various locations within the eight seats during the day.
15:40 25 May
Jharkhand recorded a voter turnout of 54.34 per cent, Odisha 48.44 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 43.95 per cent, Bihar 45.21 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 44.41 per cent, Haryana 46.26 per cent and Delhi 44.58 per cent.
14:09 25 May
Voter turnout till 1 pm
West Bengal—54.80 per cent
Jharkhand—42.54 per cent
Uttar Pradesh—37.23 per cent
Bihar—36.48 per cent
Jammu and Kashmir—35.22 per cent
Haryana—36.48 per cent
Delhi—34.37 per cent
14:08 25 May
12:54 25 May
12:50 25 May
Miraya Vadra, a first-time voter, cast the ballot along with her brother Raihan, and said youths should come out and vote for a change.
Accompanied by their parents, the two cast their votes at a booth on Lodhi Road in the New Delhi constituency.
12:43 25 May
Ambala—22.30 per cent
Bhiwani-Mahendragarh—24.32 per cent
Faridabad—19.55 per cent
Gurugram—17.42 per cent
Hisar—22.18 per cent
Karnal—22.04 per cent
Kurukshetra—26.10 per cent
Rohtak—22.15 per cent
Sirsa—24.71 per cent
Sonepat—22.88 per cent
12:37 25 May
Mustafabad Assembly segment in North East Delhi parliamentary constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 38.47 per cent till 11am.
Mustafabad was hit severely by the 2020 Delhi riots, in which 54 people were killed, many injured and several affected.
12:10 25 May
The Rajouri Assembly segment recorded the highest 34.93 per cent, say officials.
Anantnag and Kulgam Assembly segments were the only two areas where the voter turnout so far was below 15 per cent.
12:02 25 May
Maximum 24.49 per cent in in northeast Delhi constituency, says official
12:00 25 May
11:41 25 May
Kejriwal cast the ballot along with his family members, including wife Sunita Kejriwal.
He was accompanied by his two children and father Govind Ram Kejriwal as they cast their votes at the polling booth in the Civil Lines area in the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.
11:37 25 May
Kurukshetra tops with over 26 per cent voting
11:23 25 May
Murmu reached the polling booth at Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, inside the President's Estate, around 9 am.
After voting, Murmu held up her inked finger as she posed for photos for media persons outside the polling booth, which was decorated in pink and white colours.
11:01 25 May
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh cast their votes in Delhi's North Avenue.
“Proud to cast my vote for Lok Sabha 2024 elections. Urge everyone to exercise their right to vote and fulfil their constitutional duty,” he said in a post on X after casting his vote.
10:38 25 May
10:34 25 May
10:30 25 May
The Congress leaders reached the polling station set up at Nirman Bhawan around 9.30 am.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), constituents of the INDIA bloc, are contesting the Lok Sabha polls together in Delhi.
While the AAP is contesting four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates on the remaining three seats.
10:21 25 May
As at 9 am, the approximate voter turnout in Haryana is 8.31 per cent.
10:04 25 May
Karnal Lok Sabha constituency records 9.29 per cent till 9am.
Assandh (9%), Gharaunda (9.30%), Indri (11.40%), Israna (14%), Karnal (3%), Nilokheri (9.40%), Panipat City (8.70%), Panipat Rural (12%) and Samalkha (8.20%)
09:51 25 May
Over 10.2 per cent average turnout recorded in Rohtak parliamentary constituency till 9 am, Kalanaur assembly segment witnesses highest 13 per cent polling while Meham lowest with 4.7 per cent turnout.
Kalanaur—13 per cent
Garhi-Sampla Kiloi—12 per cent
Badli – 12 per cent
Beri—11.50 per cent
Jhajjar- 11 per cent
Rohtak---9.5 per cent
Bahadurgarh—9.5 per cent
Kosli—9 per cent
Meham—4.7 per cent
Kurukshetra: 10 per cent
09:45 25 May
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar were among the early voters who cast their votes on Saturday
While Saini cast his vote in his hometown Naraingarh in Ambala district along with his wife after paying obeisance at a Sikh shrine, Khattar exercised his franchise in Karnal city. Two-time Chief Minister Khattar is contesting his first Lok Sabha election from Karnal, while Saini is in the fray for the by-poll of the Karnal Assembly seat.
09:38 25 May
President Droupadi Murmu reached the polling booth at Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, inside the President's Estate, around 9 am. After voting, Murmu held up her inked finger as she posed for photos for media persons outside the polling booth, which was decorated in pink and white colours.
Murmu, who hails from Odisha, was sworn in as the 15th President of India on July 25, 2022.
She received her new voter identification card with the updated address on November 28 last year. Her old voter ID carried her Odisha address.
#WATCH | President Droupadi Murmu shows her inked finger after casting her vote for #LokSabhaElections2024 at a polling booth in Delhi pic.twitter.com/LTP1l1RCZD
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2024
09:09 25 May
09:07 25 May
In Bihar, 86 candidates are in the fray in the eight seats of Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali.
Polling is being held in six parliamentary constituencies of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri and Sambalpur along with 42 assembly seats under these Lok Sabha segments.
09:06 25 May
Twenty candidates, including PDP's Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference's Mian Altaf are in the fray from the redrawn Anantnag-Rajouri constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Multi-layer security arrangements have been put in place in the constituency spread across 18 assembly segments in Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian in south Kashmir and Rajouri and Poonch districts south of Pir Panjal.
09:04 25 May
Haryana is witnessing a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on most seats. Besides Union ministers Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar and former chief minister Khattar, and Congress's Kumari Selja, Deepender Singh Hooda and Raj Babbar are among the candidates.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is contesting the Karnal byelection.
Saini, who is the sitting Kurukshetra MP, was sworn in as the chief minister on March 12, replacing Khattar. Nine candidates are in the fray for the bypoll which was necessitated by Khattar's resignation as MLA. Also after becoming chief minister, Saini needs to get elected as an MLA within six months.
09:01 25 May
The seats going to the polls in Uttar Pradesh are Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi.
From Sultanpur, BJP candidate Maneka Gandhi is seeking her ninth entry into the Lok Sabha. The former Union minister is up against the Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad and the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Uday Raj Verma.
08:57 25 May
This is the first time the AAP and the Congress have fielded joint candidates against the BJP. While the AAP is contesting four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates on the remaining three seats.
08:53 25 May
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.
08:51 25 May
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.
08:43 25 May
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to urge voters to exercise their right to franchise in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections in large numbers.
"I urge all those who are voting in the 6th phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to vote in large numbers. Every vote counts, make yours count too! Democracy thrives when its people are engaged and active in the electoral process. I especially urge women voters and youth voters to vote in large numbers," he said.
लोकसभा चुनाव के छठे चरण के सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा निवेदन है कि वे अधिक से अधिक संख्या में मतदान के लिए आगे आएं। एक-एक वोट मायने रखता है और आपका वोट भी उतना ही महत्वपूर्ण है! लोकतंत्र तभी फलता-फूलता है और जीवंत दिखता है, जब चुनाव प्रक्रिया में जनता-जनार्दन की बढ़-चढ़कर भागीदारी होती…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2024
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