Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 took place today (May 20th). The voting for phase 5 will take place in 49 Lok Sabha constituencies. With 13 out of 48 of Maharashtra’s constituencies voting today, the Lok Sabha polls end in the state today. This voting day also marks the last day of voting from the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Polling is scheduled in 49 Parliament Constituencies across 8 States/UTs. Polling for 35 Assembly Constituencies of the Odisha Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously.
8 States/UTs going for polls in phase 5 are – Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Cities like Mumbai, Thane, Lucknow are going to polls in this phase.
Phase 5 voter turnout
The voter turnout for the fifth phase till 5 pm was recorded to be 57.38 per cent.
The highest polling percentage was in West Bengal – 73 percent and the lowest in Maharashtra – 48.88 percent.
Odissa recorded over 60 percent voter turnout till pm for 5 Lok Sabha constituencies. Voting in a booth under Kantamal assembly segment under Kandhamal Parliamentary Constituency was stopped after some people created a disturbance, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, N B Dhal, said.
In Maharashtra, a 49 percent voter turnout was recorded in Maharashtra’s 13 Lok Sabha Seats. This included a dozen Bollywood stars, corporate leaders like Mukesh Ambani and prominent politicians like Eknath Shinde.
West Bengal registered 73 percent voter turnout till 5 pm. The Arambag parliamentary constituency recorded the highest polling of 76.90 percent, followed by 75.73 percent in Uluberia.
Key candidates
Rahul Gandhi contesting from Raebareli is a key candidate in Phase 5 of elections. Raebareli has been a congress stronghold, winning the seat 17 out of 20 times in the Lok Sabha. BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh, earlier a congress leader against Mr Gandhi.
Rajnath Singh is a BJP candidate, currently the Defense Minister of India, who is also fighting from the Lucknow seat. He won the seat in both 2014 and 2019. Lucknow has been a BJP stronghold for over three decades now, with Mr Vajpayee winning five times in a row, followed by veteran leader Lalji Tandon, before Mr Singh won it in the 2014 election that brought the BJP to power.
लखनऊ में परिवार के साथ मतदान किया। जो लोग आज वोट करने वाले हैं, उनसे आग्रह है कि आप लोग अपने परिजनों एवं इष्ट मित्रों के साथ भारी संख्या में मतदान करें। pic.twitter.com/MqDs4qXpSd
— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) May 20, 2024
Smriti Irani contesting in Amethi against Kishori Lal Sharma from Congress. She won the Amethi seat in 2019 against Rahul Gandhi.
Omar Abdullah will be fighting from the Baramulla seat for the first time after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was stripped off. He is fighting against Rajya Sabha MP Fayad Ahmad Mir from Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP.
1036 complaints raised?
The election commission received about 1036 complaints from various political parties in West Bengal relating to malfunctioning EVMs, agents being stopped from entering booths and voters being threatened.
BJP MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh was welcomed with black flags with sloganeering against him. He has complained against TMC candidate Partha Bhowmick blaming him for distributing money for votes.
VIDEO | TMC workers show black flag to BJP candidate from Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat Arjun Singh (@ArjunsinghWB). #LSPolls2024WithPTI #LokSabhaElections2024
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/G9B2mz2cDL
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 20, 2024
In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena UBT leader Aadesh Bandekar complained that EVM machines were installed but people could not cast their votes.
An independent candidate was also booked for garlanding the EVM enclosure in Nashik. “The police have registered a case against spiritual leader Shantigiri Maharaj, an independent candidate, for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct after he garlanded the EVM enclosure while exercising his franchise in the Nashik Lok Sabha constituency,” an official said.
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