Election Phase 5 Live: Total Voter Turnout At 62.56%
Catch all live updates on the fifth phase of India’s 2019 general elections here.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Voter Turnout At 8 P.M.
The overall voter turnout for the fifth phase stood at 62.45 percent at 5 P.M.
Voter Turnout At 5 P.M.
The overall voter turnout for the fifth phase stood at 59 percent at 5 P.M.
Violence On Polling Day In Kashmir, West Bengal
A grenade attack on a polling booth in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, violence in West Bengal and EVM glitches were reported during the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls Monday across seven states in which voters turned out in considerable numbers till the afternoon.
Political heavyweights Rajnath Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani are in the fray in this phase in which polling is underway in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven seats each in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand.
In Jammu and Kashmir, polling began on a violent note with militants lobbing a grenade towards a polling station in Pulwama district, police said.
A grenade was lobbed towards Rohmoo polling station in Pulwama but there were no reports of any casualties in the the blast, a police official said.
Polling is being held in Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency which also includes Anantnag and Kulgam districts.
There are 18 candidates in the fray for Anantnag constituency including PDP president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti.
In West Bengal, a scuffle broke out between Barrackpore seat's BJP candidate Arjun Singh and central forces when the former TMC MLA tried to enter a booth following allegations that voters were not being allowed to exercise their franchise there, officials said.
Singh was later seen chasing "fake voters" in Naihati area.
"Our agents were not allowed inside booths. People were not allowed to vote properly and I went there to have a look. I have the right to enter booths but police stopped me and hit me," Singh alleged.
Alleging that the police were not doing anything to stop rigging in some booths of Barrackpore seat, Singh demanded that polling be stopped and re-polling ordered.
BJP leaders also demanded re-polling in the seat.
Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported in Bangaon, Howrah and Hoogly constituencies, with around 33.47 percent of nearly 1.17 crore voters casting their ballots in the first four hours, officials said.
At a booth in Belmuri in Hooghly seat, BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee was seen threatening a polling officer. She is contesting against TMC's two-term MP Ratna De Nag.
A presiding officer at a booth in Tarakswar was removed after one person, allegedly a TMC leader, was seen casting votes on behalf of others there.
Source: PTI
Voter Turnout Stands At 46.05% As Of 3 P.M.
The overall voter turnout as of 3 p.m. stood at 46.05 percent. Here’s the breakup.
Voter Turnout Stands At 28.46% As Of 1 P.M.
The overall voter turnout as of 1 p.m. stood at 28.46 percent. Here’s the breakup.
Smriti Irani Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of 'Booth Capturing' In Amethi
Polling for the keenly watched contest in Amethi, long considered a Gandhi family turf, began on a contentious note on Monday with BJP candidate Smriti Irani alleging that Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi was "ensuring booth capturing".
Irani, who crisscrossed the area from early morning, visiting booths to meet party workers, accused Gandhi of capturing booths.
She also tagged a video in which an elderly women is seen alleging that her hand was forcibly put on the 'panja' (hand) election symbol of the Congress though she wanted to vote for the 'kamal' (lotus), the BJP's symbol.
There is no written complaint on the matter.
Irani also questioned the absence of the Gandhi scion from Amethi. He is expected to arrive here later in the afternoon.
In his stead, local Congress leaders moved around the constituency.
Voter Turnout Stands At 27.13% As Of Noon
The overall voter turnout as of 12 p.m. stood at 27.13 percent with West Bengal still leading the states going in for a vote, with 33.64 percent. Here’s the breakup.
Voter Turnout Stands At 15.03% As Of 11 A.M.
The overall voter turnout as of 11 a.m. stood at 15.03 percent with West Bengal leading the states going in for a vote. Here’s the breakup.
Voter Turnout Stands At 12.72% As Of 10 A.M.
The overall voter turnout as of 10 a.m. stood at 12.72 percent. Here’s the breakup.
Jayant Sinha Casts His Vote From Hazaribagh
Voter Turnout Stands At 5.3% As Of 9:15 A.M.
The overall voter turnout as of 9:15 a.m. stood at 5.3 percent. Here’s the breakup.
West Bengal BJP Candidate Accuses TMC Of Attack
Arjun Singh, BJP’s candidate from Barrackpore in West Bengal, accused the Trinamool Congress of sending workers who allegedly attacked him.
Minor EVM Issues At Some Booths In Madhya Pradesh
Polling was underway on Monday in seven Lok Sabha seats of Madhya Pradesh with minor electronic voting machine glitches being reported at some booths, an official told PTI.
Long queues were seen at some booths after the polling began at 7 a.m., he said.
This is the second phase of polling in Madhya Pradesh, the first phase having been held on April 29.
"Polling is going on peacefully across the seven constituencies. Minor issues related to EVMs were reported at some places but they were sorted out," state's chief electoral officer VL Kantha Rao told PTI.
Mayawati Casts Her Vote In UP, Voting Begins In Pulwama
Polling Begins
Voting has begun for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election in 51 constituencies spread across seven states with many political bigwigs, including Rajnath Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani, being in the fray.
About 8.75 crore people will decide the fate of 674 candidates in the fifth of the seven-phase elections.
The Election Commission has set up 94,000 polling stations and booths, and made elaborate security arrangements.
Polling will be held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven seats each in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand. In Jammu and Kashmir, polling will take place in Ladakh constituency and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag seat.
The stakes are high for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies as it had swept 40 of these seats in 2014, leaving just two for the Congress and the rest for other opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress (seven).
With this phase, election will be over in 424 seats and polling in the remaining 118 seats will be held on May 12 and 19.
The BJP had bagged 12 of these seats in 2014 with the Congress winning Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli and Rahul Gandhi's Amethi -- the only two constituencies where the Congress succeeded out of the 80 in the entire state.
Source: PTI
Key Seats To Watch Out For
Bihar
- Madhubani
- Saran
- Hajipur
Jharkhand
- Ranchi
- Hazaribagh
Rajasthan
- Ganganagar
- Bikaner
- Jaipur Rural
Uttar Pradesh
- Sitapur
- Lucknow
- Rae Bareli
- Amethi
- Fatehpur
West Bengal
- Barrackpur
Voting Day
Going into the fifth phase of the 17th Lok Sabha election today, voters from seven states will cast their ballots across 51 seats—the lowest number of Parliamentary constituencies—to choose from 674 candidates. It’s also one of the most important contests as the Gandhi mother-son duo will fight to retain their pocket boroughs.
Since the fourth phase of polling, Mumbai—the country’s financial capital—recorded the highest voter turnout in three decades at 54 percent. That compares with the overall turnout of 63.16 percent. Last week, the Election Commission gave Narendra Modi a fourth clean chit for his comments, the Vivek Oberoi-starrer Modi biopic, PM Narendra Modi, chalked out a release date and Sadhvi Pragya was barred from the campaign trail by the poll panel for 72 hours.
Also, a citizenship status led to a debate, with a plea to debar Rahul Gandhi over his alleged British nationality, while Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar had to clarify his Canadian passport.