May 25th 2024.
On Saturday, the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections saw voting commence for 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories. The national capital, Delhi, was among the places where polling was underway, along with 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, and several others in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir.
In addition to the Lok Sabha elections, voting was also taking place for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and a bypoll in the Karnal assembly constituency in Haryana. Polling began at 7am, and people were already lining up at polling stations to exercise their right to vote. A total of 11.13 crore voters, including 5.84 crore males, 5.29 crore females, and 5,120 third gender individuals, were eligible to cast their votes. The Election Commission had deployed over 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations to ensure a smooth and fair voting process.
This phase of the elections saw many prominent candidates in the fray, including Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Rao Inderjit Singh, and Krishan Pal Gurjar, as well as BJP's Maneka Gandhi, Sambit Patra, Manohar Lal Khattar, and Manoj Tiwari. Other notable candidates included PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Congress leaders Deepender Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, and Kanhaiya Kumar.
By 1pm, a voter turnout of 39.13% had been recorded in the 58 constituencies where polling was taking place. West Bengal had the highest voter turnout at 54.80%, while Delhi had the lowest at 34.37%. In Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and Haryana, the voter turnout was 37.23%, 42.54%, 36.48%, 35.22%, 35.69%, and 36.48%, respectively.
As of 11am, over 25% of electors had already exercised their franchise in this phase of the Lok Sabha elections. West Bengal had the highest voter turnout at 36.88%, while Odisha had the lowest at 21.30%. In Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Haryana, the voter turnout was 27.06%, 27.80%, 23.67%, 23.11%, 21.69%, and 22.09%, respectively.
By 9am, 10.82% of voters had already cast their votes in the 58 constituencies. West Bengal had the highest voter turnout at 16.54%, while Odisha had the lowest at 7.43%. In Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Haryana, the voter turnout was 12.33%, 11.74%, 9.66%, 8.89%, 8.94%, and 8.31%, respectively.
In Delhi, several prominent figures, including President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi minister Atishi, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and outgoing East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir, were among the early voters. However, there were also reports of disturbances in the voting process, with PDP candidate for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, Mehbooba Mufti, sitting on a dharna to protest the alleged arrest of her party workers.
In West Bengal, the Jangal Mahal region, which spans five districts and is known for its identity politics, saw voting take place for eight Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 polls, the BJP had won five of these seats, while the TMC had won three. Meanwhile, in Delhi, an interesting contest was unfolding between the BJP and INDIA bloc partners Congress and AAP, with all seven seats seeing a direct, one-on-one battle between these parties.
The Election Commission had also instructed officials to take necessary measures to manage the impact of the ongoing heatwave in many parts of India. With the temperature rising, it was crucial to ensure that voters were able to cast their votes comfortably and safely.
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