Polling concludes in fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls; fate of 695 candidates sealed

New Delhi [India], May 20 : Polling in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, which commenced on Monday simultaneously across 49 Parliamentary Constituencies, recorded an approximate voter turnout of 57.47 per cent.
The Commission will also, after the scrutiny and depending on the number and schedule of repolls, publish the updated voter turnout along with a gender-wise breakdown by May 24.
Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal are the states /UTs that went to the polls in this phase. A total of 695 candidates were in the electoral fray.
According to the Election Commission, polling across all constituencies was held smoothly and peacefully. The Commission led by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, kept a close watch on each and every aspect of the poll process and issued necessary directions, during the day.
In Bihar's five parliamentary constituencies, the voter turnout was recorded at 52.60.
In Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla seat, the voter turnout was 54.49 per cent. In Jharkhand's three seats--63 per cent, In Ladakh's one seat--67.15 per cent, in Maharashtra's 13 seats--48.88 per cent, in Odisha's five seats--60.72 per cent, in Uttar Pradesh's 14 seats--57.70 per cent and in West Bengal's seven seats-73 per cent.
The Baramulla parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a voter turnout of 55.79 per cent in the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and Budgam.
As per the ECI, this is the highest voter turnout recorded in the constituency in the last 8 Lok Sabha elections in 35 years.
The voter turnout in Baramulla was 5.48 per cent in 1989, 46.65 per cent in 1996, 41.94 per cent in 1998, 27.79 per cent in 1999, 35.65 per cent in 2004, 41.84 per cent in 2009, 39.14 per cent in 2014 and 34.6 per cent in 2019.
The Commission has enabled Kashmiri migrant voters residing at various relief camps in Delhi, Jammu, and Udhampur to also have the option of voting in person at designated special polling stations or using postal ballot. 21 special polling stations were established in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur, and 4 in Delhi.
There was a clash reported between Congress and BJP workers during the ongoing voting in Little Angel School, located in the Sion area of Mumbai.
BJP workers claimed that they were giving voting slips to voters 100 meters away from the polling centre, on which Congress officials accused BJP people were interfering in the voting process by going near the polling centre.
After which Congress and BJP workers came face to face and BJP claimed that they even threatened to kill two people.
"Based on the complaint of a BJP worker, Sion police registered a case against two unknown people under section 506(2) of IPC and started further investigation," Mumbai Police said.
Constituencies in various urban cities like Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Lucknow continued the trend of urban apathy as noticed in last General Election 2019.
In Mumbai, celebrities and common citizens alike, waited patiently for their turn to cast their vote and proudly showcased their inked fingers. Celebrities from various walks of life have partnered with the Commission to motivate voters to exercise their franchise in the General Elections 2024. Various such motivational videos were uploaded on their social media platforms.
With the conclusion of phase 5, polling for General Elections 2024 is now completed in 25 States/UTs and 428 PCs.
Polling is also complete in General Elections for State Legislative Assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh and 63 assembly seats of Odisha State Assembly.
The sixth phase polling is scheduled on May 25 in 58 PCs (including the adjourned poll in Anantnag-Rajouri PC) in 8 States/UTs.