A total of 904 candidates, including Narendra Modi, will contest in the final phase of India elections on Saturday.
Voting will take place for 57 seats across seven states—Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab—and the Union territory of Chandigarh. Additionally, polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha state will occur simultaneously.
This phase concludes the polling process for the 18th Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), which started on April 19.
So far, elections have been held for 486 seats across 28 states and Union territories. Counting of votes will be on June 4. Over 10.06 crore citizens are eligible to vote in this last phase, including nearly 5.24 crore men, 4.82 crore women, and 3,574 third-gender electors.
Prominent candidates include minister Anurag Thakur, Abhishek Banerjee, Misa Bharti, and actor Kangana Ranaut.
The seventh phase includes all 13 seats in Punjab and four in Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, three in Jharkhand, and Chandigarh. By-elections to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh will also take place.
The polling concludes a process that began on April 19 and covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories. The assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim also went to polls. Counting of votes in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be on June 2. Exit poll data and results can be broadcast by television channels and news outlets from June 1 after 6.30 pm, as per Election Commission guidelines.
The election commission has ensured polling stations are equipped with basic facilities like shade, drinking water, ramps, and toilets.
Measures are also in place to manage adverse weather conditions. Voters are urged to turn out in large numbers. Turnout in the first six phases was 66.14 per cent, 66.71 per cent, 65.68 per cent, 69.16 per cent, 62.2 per cent, and 63.36 per cent respectively.
Campaigning for the last phase ended on Thursday evening. BJP leaders, including Modi, accused the Congress and the INDIA alliance of corruption, anti-Hindu sentiments, and dynastic politics. The opposition claimed the BJP is anti-farmer, anti-youth, and may change the Constitution if victorious. Modi is currently meditating in Kanyakumari until June 1.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling will occur in Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, and Robertsganj (SC). The state sees a contest between the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA bloc members Samajwadi Party and Congress. Notable candidates include ministers Mahendra Nath Pandey, Pankaj Chaudhary, and Anupriya Patel. Afzal Ansari is contesting from Ghazipur, and Neeraj Shekhar from Ballia. Modi's competitors in Varanasi include Ajay Rai (Congress) and Ather Jamal Lari (BSP).
In South Bengal, the elections will test TMC's dominance amid internal power struggles. Key constituencies include Sandeshkhali in Basirhat, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar. TMC's Abhishek Banerjee is contesting from Diamond Harbour. Basirhat is a contested area with allegations of atrocities on women and land grabs. BJP has fielded Rekha Patra against TMC's Haji Nurul Islam, and CPI(M) has Nirapada Sardar.
In Punjab, candidates include Preneet Kaur, Charanjit Singh Channi, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and Ravneet Singh Bittu. The BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are contesting independently for the first time since 1996, while Congress and AAP have fielded their own candidates. In Himachal Pradesh, notable candidates are Vikramaditya Singh, Anurag Thakur, and Anand Sharma.
In Bihar, minister RK Singh is contesting from Arrah, and Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib. Misa Bharti is running from Pataliputra. Karakat sees a multi-cornered contest with Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh running as an Independent. Upendra Kushwaha, Raja Ram Kushwaha, and Priyanka Chaudhary are also in the fray.
(PTI)
Damian Talbot