Voting commenced today for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, covering 58 parliamentary constituencies across six States and two Union Territories. Amid tight security, polling started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with voters in line by closing time allowed to cast their votes.
The sixth phase involves constituencies from Bihar (8 seats), Haryana (10 seats), Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat), Jharkhand (4 seats), Delhi (7 seats), Odisha (6 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats), and West Bengal (8 seats), totaling 889 candidates vying for seats.
In Odisha, 42 assembly constituencies are also participating in elections concurrently with the Lok Sabha polls.
Notable candidates in this phase include former Chief Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar (BJP, Karnal) and Mehbooba Mufti (PDP, Anantnag-Rajouri). Other prominent figures include Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, and political figures like Bansuri Swaraj, Somnath Bharti, Manoj Tiwari, Kanhaiya Kumar, Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), Dharmendra Yadav, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Agnimitra Paul, Naveen Jindal, Raj Babbar, Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, and Aparajita Sarangi.
Key constituencies in this phase include New Delhi, North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi, and Chandni Chowk in the capital, as well as Sultanpur and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. Other significant seats are Anantnag-Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, Tamluk and Medinipur in West Bengal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Gurgaon, and Rohtak in Haryana, and Bhubaneswar, Puri, and Sambalpur in Odisha. The stakes are high for major parties such as the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and other members of the INDIA bloc in this crucial phase of the election.
The riveting contest in Delhi has AAP and Congress jointly taking on the BJP, which won all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital in the last two elections. While Congress is contesting on three seats in the national capital, AAP is contesting on four. The two parties are part of the INDIA bloc.
AAP and Congress have joined hands in Haryana where BJP won all the seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Some seats in the State, including Hisar, are witnessing multi-cornered contests. Apart from BJP and Congress, the electoral stakes are high for INLD, Jannayak Janata Party in Haryana. The State will also go for assembly polls months after the Lok Sabha election.
Odisha is seeing some key battles in Sambalpur, Bhubaneshwar and Puri. Election Commission said the concerned CEOs and State officials have been directed to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather or rainfall wherever predicted. Polling stations will have ample shade, drinking water, ramps, toilets, and other basic facilities to ensure that polling takes place in a comfortable and secure environment.
The Election Commission appealed to voters to turn out in large numbers at polling stations and vote with responsibility and pride.
Polling has already has been completed on 428 parliamentary constituencies for 25 States and UTs in the first five phases of general elections. Over 11.13 crore voters include 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5120 third gender electors are eligible to exercise their franchise in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls. Around 11.4 lakh polling officials will be involved in conducting his phase of election.
Over 8.93 lakh registered over 85-year-old voters, 23,659 voters above 100 years and 9.58 lakh PwD voters have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes in the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls. The Lok Sabha will be completed on June 1 after the seventh phase of polls in which voters from 57 constituencies will exercise their franchise. The results will be declared on June 4.
