Big names in the running as voting takes place in 5th phase of Indian general elections.

In various parts of India, 49 Lok Sabha seats in eight states and Union Territories are holding elections today. These include areas ranging from the beautiful Ladakh to the vibrant city of Mumbai, and even the bustling regions of Awadh and Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 695 candidates, including notable figures like Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, and Smriti Irani, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and National Conference's Omar Abdullah, are competing in this phase.

Among these seats, five are in Bihar and Odisha, three are in Jharkhand, thirteen are in Maharashtra, fourteen are in Uttar Pradesh, seven are in West Bengal, and one each in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In addition to the Lok Sabha elections, 35 seats of the Odisha Assembly will also be voted on in the state's second phase of simultaneous polling.

The Election Commission has deployed around 9.47 lakh polling officials to assist the 8.95 crore voters, which includes 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5,409 third-gender individuals. With 94,732 polling stations set up, the Commission has made sure to provide basic facilities such as shade, drinking water, ramps, and toilets to ensure a comfortable and secure voting experience. In areas where hot weather conditions are expected, the concerned CEOs/DEOs and state machineries have been advised to take necessary measures.

Despite having the least number of seats among all phases, the fifth phase boasts of high-profile seats with top Union Ministers and leaders of national and regional parties competing. Some of the other notable names in this phase include Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, from Kalyan, former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son Karan Bhushan Singh in Kaiserganj, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya against BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran, Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas chief Chirag Paswan fighting from his father's bastion, Hajipur-SC, and Trinamool Congress candidate and TV anchor Rachna Banerjee versus actress-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee of the BJP in Hooghly, West Bengal. All in all, the fifth phase of elections is expected to be a highly anticipated and closely watched one.

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