Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Phase 5 Live Updates: An approximate voter turnout of 57.38 per cent was recorded under phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, as per the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout App, with the highest polling percentage in West Bengal (73%) and the lowest in Maharashtra (48.88%). Polling for 49 Lok Sabha seats across six states and two Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, took place on Monday. In addition to five Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, voters will also cast their ballot for the second phase of simultaneous state assembly elections today.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission received about 1036 complaints from various political parties in West Bengal related to malfunctioning EVMs, agents being stopped from entering polling booths, and voters being threatened or stopped from going to cast their votes in different constituencies. Even before polling booths opened up for voters this morning, BJP MP and candidate from West Bengal’s Barrackpore Arjun Singh came forward to make allegations against TMC candidate Partha Bhowmick accusing him of distributing money on Sunday night ahead of polling. “A complaint has already been made to the Election Commission…If such things keep happening, it will not be good for Partha Bhowmick (TMC candidate)…We will try to have peaceful elections but if that doesn’t happen, government would be responsible for it…,” Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Where are people voting? In the second and final phase of polls in Maharashtra, the state will vote for 13 constituencies, including six in Mumbai. Seven seats in southern part of West Bengal will go to polls along with 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The big names in the fray from UP include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, contesting from Rae Bareli — a stronghold of mother Sonia Gandhi — and sitting BJP MP Smriti Irani, fighting it out in Amethi — another traditional Gandhi-family bastion. Voting will also take place for a lone seat in Ladakh, three Jharkhand seats with by-poll in the state’s Gandey assembly seat, and five seats of Bihar which are all currently held by the BJP-led NDA. Polls in J-K’s Baramulla is going to be the first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 for former CM Omar Abdullah (National Conference)
