Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 5 today: 49 seats in 8 states/UTs; focus on Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani, others
Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, covering 49 seats across six states and two union territories (UTs), is being held on Monday, May 20.
The voters of Uttar Pradesh, which has a total of 80 Lok Sabha seats, will decide the electoral fate of key candidates from some of the high-profile constituencies, including Rae Bareli, Amethi, and Lucknow, in this phase. Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections began at 7am and will end at 6pm.
Voting will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha on Monday, where Biju Janata Dal president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik is among the candidates.
Of the 49 Lok Sabha constituencies, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Key candidates in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls 2024 are Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, and Rastriya Janata Dal leader Rohini Acharya.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 5: Top 10 facts
More than 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5,409 third-gender electors will decide the fate of 695 candidates, the Election Commission of India said.
A total of 2,000 flying squads, 2,105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.
A total of 216 international border check posts and 565 inter-state border check posts are keeping a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash and freebies.
The ECI has provided 12 alternative documents other than voter ID cards (EPIC) for identity verification at polling stations. If a voter is registered in the electoral roll, voting can be done by showing any of these documents.
In Maharashtra, polling will be held in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies, including six in Mumbai. Piyush Goyal, Bharati Pawar (Dindori) and Kapil Patil (Bhiwandi) are among the key candidates of the BJP, which has also fielded prominent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam (Mumbai North Central).
In West Bengal, which has seen sporadic violence in the previous phases of the voting, security has been stepped up. Forces have deployed in seven constituencies that have a history of election-related violence, with over 57 per cent of the polling stations identified as sensitive in this phase, the highest till now in this Lok Sabha election. More than 60,000 personnel of central forces and around 30,000 personnel of the state police, have been deployed.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 will decide the fate of Omar Abdullah, the National Conference vice-president and a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, and 21 others in the fray from Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.
In Odisha, tight security arrangements have been made, with the deployment of more than 33,000 personnel, for elections to five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly constituencies. Over 70.69 lakh voters, including 40.33 lakh men, 39.35 lakh women and 851 transgender persons, are eligible to cast their votes at 9,162 polling stations in Aska, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Bolangir and Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituencies, and 35 assembly seats falling under these parliamentary constituencies, in the second phase of polls in the state.
In Bihar, Rohini Acharya, the daughter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting against BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran. In Hajipur, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan is aiming to carry forward father Ram Vilas Paswan’s legacy. He is pitted against RJD’s Shiv Chandra Ram.
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 13 saw 69.2% voter turnout, the highest among the four phases so far.