Lok Sabha election 2019: UP, Rajasthan record around 50% polling till 3 pm

Voting began on Monday for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election in 51 constituencies spread across seven states with many political bigwigs, including Rajnath Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani, being in the fray.

About 8.75 crore people will decide the fate of 674 candidates in the fifth of the seven-phase elections.

The Election Commission has set up 94,000 polling stations/booths and made elaborate security arrangements.

Polling will be held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven seats each in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand. In Jammu and Kashmir, polling will take place in Ladakh constituency and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag seat.

The stakes are high for the ruling BJP and its allies as it had swept 40 of these seats in 2014, leaving just two for the Congress and the rest for other opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress (seven).

With this phase, election will be over in 424 seats and polling in the remaining 118 seats will be held on May 12 and 19.

Election to 542 Lok Sabha seats is being conducted in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Election in Vellore constituency in Tamil Nadu has been cancelled following excess use of money power. Results will be declared on May 23.

Uttar Pradesh: 53.19% voting till 5 pm

Over 53 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in 14 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh where Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi are in the fray.

Among early voters in the state capital included Home Minister Singh, BSP supremo Mayawati, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, DGP OP Singh and Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar.

Election Commission of India officials here said polling was going on smoothly, barring some complaints of EVM malfunctioning which were attended to immediately.

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Amethi candidate Irani alleged that the Congress president was “ensuring booth capturing” in the constituency. “Alert @ECISVEEP Congress President @Rahul Gandhi ensuring booth capturing,” she said on Twitter.

She also tagged a video in which an elderly women is seen alleging that her finger was forcibly put on ‘panja’ (hand), election symbol of the Congress, though she wanted to vote for ‘kamal’ (lotus), the BJP’s symbol. However, there is no written complaint on the matter.

A security jawan keeps watch as voters wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling booth, during the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, in Lucknow, Monday, May 6, 2019.

Till 5 pm, 53.19 per cent polling was witnessed in the state, the EC officials said. The maximum 59.48 per cent voting was witnessed in Sitapur, while Lucknow recorded 50.27 per cent voting.

Rae Bareli and Amethi witnessed 50.38 per cent and 48.57 per cent turnout respectively, the officials said. The BJP had bagged 12 of the 14 seats in 2014 with the Congress winning Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Polling was underway in Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj (SC), Lucknow, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Bahraich (SC), Kaiserganj and Gonda constituencies where a total of 182 candidates are in the fray.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting on five seats - Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj, Fatehpur and Kaisarganj. Its ally Samajwadi Party (SP) is fighting on seven seats - Lucknow, Banda, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Bahraich and Gonda.

In Amethi and Rae Bareli, the SP-BSP alliance has not put up any candidate, leaving the two constituencies for the Congress. The Union home minister is seeking re-election from Lucknow, while his colleague at the Centre Irani is again taking on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

In the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, under which the temple town of Ayodhya falls, sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh is taking on Nirmal Khatri of the Congress. Khatri is a former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief.

Former Union minister and Congress candidate Jitin Prasad is contesting from Dhaurahra against former Chambal brigand Malkhan Singh. In Lucknow, the SP has pitted Poonam Sinha, wife of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, as the joint ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance candidate against Rajnath Singh.

About 59% voting till 5 pm in Rajasthan

About 59 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan where two former Olympians are among the 134 candidates in the fray. The maximum voter turnout of 68.89 per cent was recorded in the Ganganagar (SC) seat.

Jaipur, Churu and Alwar recorded 63.89 per cent, 61.21 per cent and 60.99 cent polling, respectively, according to the website of the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan.

Polling began at 7 am in Ganganagar (SC), Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur seats. The overall polling percentage in the 12 seats till 5 pm was about 59 per cent, as per the website of the state poll panel.

A total of 2.30 crore voters across these 12 constituencies are eligible to decide the fate of the 134 candidates, among whom 16 are women. As many as 23,738 polling stations have been set up in the state for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The candidates contesting the election include two former Olympians, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Congress’ Krishna Poonia from the Jaipur Rural seat, former Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and ex-IPS officer Madangopal Meghwal from Bikaner.

Union minister and BJP candidiate Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore shows his inked finger after casting his vote at a polling station, during the fifth phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Jaipur, Monday, May 6, 2019

While Rathore is banking on the Modi factor for his re-election from the Jaipur Rural seat and has highlighted national security as the key issue during the hustings, Congress MLA Poonia has been questioning the works of the sitting BJP parliamentarian. The seat, which Rathore won in 2014 with a margin of 3.32 lakh votes, is dominated by the Jat community to which Poonia belongs.

Meghwal is facing a tough fight from his cousin and Congress candidate Madangopal Meghwal from the Bikaner seat From the Nagaur seat, BJP’s alliance partner and former BJP leader Hanuman Beniwal, the founder of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), is contesting the election against Congress candidate and former MP Jyoti Mirdha.

Two ‘sants’, Sumedhanand Saraswati and Baba Balaknath, are trying their luck from Sikar and Alwar constituencies respectively. In Alwar, Congress candidate and former Union minister and ex-royal Bhanwar Jitendra Singh is in the fray.

In Dausa, both the BJP and the Congress candidates are women. The BJP has fielded former MP Jaskaru Meena against Congress candidate Savita Meena, the wife of sitting Congress MLA Murari Meena.

Rajasthan has a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 13 of them went to polls on April 29.

Jammu and Kashmir: Polling underway in Shopian, Pulwama districts

Polling was underway in Shopian and Pulwama districts, which are a part of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, and in Ladakh constituency of Jammu and Kashmir amidst stringent security arrangements, officials said. 11 per cent of the voters came out to vote till 1:30 PM.

Polling began at 7 AM in Shopian and Pulwama districts and in Ladakh Parliamentary constituency — spread over two districts of Leh and Kargil, the officials said. The polling would end at 6 PM in Ladakh, and 4 PM in Shopian and Pulwama districts.

All arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of polls in these two constituencies going to polls in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

A Kashmiri Pandit woman shows her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her vote at a polling station during the fifth phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Jammu, Monday, May 6, 2019.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, Congress state president Ghulam Ahmad Mir, former Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge and National Conference candidate Hasnain Masood, BJP’s Sofi Yousuf and Zaffar Ali of the People’s Conference are among the 18 candidates in fray from the Anantnag seat.

Candidates in fray for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat are Rigzin Spalbar of Indian National Congress (INC), Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of BJP and Asgar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Hussain - both independents.

Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency is spread over four districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama with 16 assembly segments. The Lok Sabha polls to this constituency are being held in three phases due to security reasons. Anantnag district went to polls on 23 April, while voting in Kulgam district took place on 29 April.

The Ladakh Parliamentary constituency comprises two districts of Leh and Kargil. The Kargil district consists of two assembly segments Kargil and Zanskar while Leh district includes Nubra and Leh assembly segments, the officials said. This constituency has an electoral strength of 174,618 voters - 86752 males, 85,064 females, 2,799 are service voters and 3 transgender voters. 559 polling stations have been set up across the constituency for the smooth conduct of electoral exercise, the officials said.

The Ladakh parliamentary constituency and the two districts of Anantnag constituency have a total electoral strength of 697,148 voters including 357,879 males, 335,799 females, 3,456 service voters and 14 transgender voters, the officials said.

54.22% voter turnout in Madhya Pradesh till 3 pm

An average 54.22 per cent turnout was recorded till 3 pm in seven Lok Sabha seats of Madhya Pradesh, an election official said. Long queues were seen at many booths as polling was underway since 7 am in the seven constituencies of Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad and Betul, he said.

The voting figures till 3 pm were as follows: Tikamgarh 52.56 per cent, Damoh- 55.20 per cent, Khajuraho- 52.03 per cent, Satna- 51.13 per cent, Rewa- 46.96 per cent, Hoshangabad- 59.41 per cent and Betul- 61.80 per cent, state chief electoral officer V L Kantha Rao informed at a press conference. He said those in queue till 6 pm will be allowed to vote.

The voting figures till 2 pm were as follows: Tikamgarh 43.37 per cent, Damoh- 45.83 per cent, Khajuraho- 42.51 per cent, Satna- 41.10 per cent, Rewa- 39.37 per cent, Hoshangabad- 45.40 per cent and Betul- 48.98 per cent. All these seats are currently held by the BJP.

Polling was going on peacefully across the seven constituencies, Rao said. “Minor issues related to EVMs were reported at some places but they were sorted out,” he said, adding that EVMs were changed at 139 polling booths during polling across these seven parliamentary seats.

He said there were complaints about poll boycott at some places in Chhatarpur, Tikamngarh, Damoh and Hoshangabad over civic issues but the officials sorted out the issues and started polling.

Rao said there was a tiff between two groups at a polling booth involving local MLA (BJP’s Vijay Shah) at Harsud and FIRs were registered against both the groups on their respective complaints.

Union minister Virendra Singh Khatik and BJP MP Prahlad Patel are among the 110 candidates in the fray. This is the second phase of polling in Madhya Pradesh.

Lok Sabha elections for 29 seats in the state are being held in four phases. Polling for six seats was held in the first phase on April 29, while eight seats each will go to polls on May 12 and 19.

In 2014, the BJP won 27 seats in the state while the Congress bagged two seats. The Congress later increased its tally to three after wresting Ratlam seat from the BJP in a bypoll.

Jharkhand: Nearly 46 per cent polling till 1:30 PM

An estimated 45.98 per cent of the 65,87,028 electorate cast their votes till 1 PM in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Jharkhand, in the second phase of polling in the state.

Voters queued up before booths in Koderma, Ranchi, Khunti (ST) and Hazaribag constituencies since early morning to elect their representatives from among 61 contestants. Police said there was no untoward incident reported so far from any part of the four constituencies.

The prominent candidates include Union Minister Jayant Sinha, former chief ministers Arjun Munda and Babulal Marandi, former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay and ex-MLA Kalicharan Munda. While Jayant Sinha of the BJP is seeking a re-election from Hazaribag, BJP candidate Arjun Munda is taking on Kalicharan Munda of the Congress in Khunti constituency. Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay is facing BJPs Sanjay Seth from Ranchi. Babulal Marandi, the president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), is pitted against BJPs Annapurna Devi in Koderma.

Of the total electorate, 31,44,679 are female and 83 belong to the third gender. Polling will be held in 8,834 polling stations till 4 PM amid tight security, the election official said.

Bihar: 44.28 per cent polling till 3 pm

A estimated 44.28 per cent of over 87.66 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in five Lok Sabha constituencies during the fifth phase of polling in Bihar. A total of 87,66,722 voters would decide the fate of 82 candidates.

Polling is currently underway peacefully in five Lok Sabha constituencies of Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Hajipur with few incidents of EVM malfunctioning and poll boycott reported from a couple of places.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar said 44.28 per cent votes were polled in the five constituencies together till 3 pm. Saran recorded the highest voting percentage of 46 per cent, followed by 44.71 per cent in Muzaffarpur, 44.60 per cent in Sitamarhi, 43.60 in Hajipur and 42.65 per cent in Madhubani. “Polling has been peaceful with no untoward incidents reported from any of these constituencies so far,” officials said.

The voting process, which began at 7 am, will come to an end at 6 pm across all 8,899 polling stations in all the five constituencies. A total of 65,000 polling personnel have been deployed for conducting the elections. Webcasting is being done from 400 polling stations.

Earlier in the day, some people decided to boycott the polls over issues related to lack of development work. Residents of Dumri village in Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha constituency stayed away from voting claiming lack of development, officials said. The polling process was also hampered in various polling stations due to EVM malfunctioning.

The polling process was delayed at six polling stations in Saran due to malfunctioning of EVMs, officials said, adding, malfunctioning of EVMs were also reported from Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur constituencies.

Polling, in each of these constituencies, began after an hour of delay. People of all age groups, were seen standing in long queues outside various polling stations.

An elderly woman at a polling station at Hajipur in Vaishali district, Bihar, on May 06, 2019.

Former union minister, senior BJP leader and sitting MP of Saram, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, exercised his franchise in Saran. His rival Chandrika Rai, Tej Pratap Yadav’s father- in-law also cast his vote there.

Former union minister Shakeel Ahmad, who was suspended on Sunday by the party for contesting from Madhubani seat as an independent candidate, cast his vote in Madhubani.

West Bengal: Over 50 per cent votes polled

Around 50.78 per cent of nearly 1.17 crore voters cast their ballots in the first two hours of polling in the fifth phase in seven Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, officials said.

Woman voters wait to cast their votes at a polling booth in Howrah district, West Bengal, on May 6, 2019.

Some stray incidents of violence were reported from Bangaon, Hooghly and Barrackpore seats, an election official said. “We have sought report from the polling officers posted in these stations. Otherwise the polling so far has been peaceful,” he said.

Of the seven constituencies, Uluberia recorded maximum polling at 20.59 per cent till 9 am, followed by Arambagh (SC) 19.19 per cent, Sreerampore 17.41 per cent, Howrah recorded 16.18 per cent, Hooghly 15.73 per cent, Barrackpore 13.99 per cent and Bongaon (SC) 13.68 per cent, the official said. The ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and Left Front constituent CPI(M) are the main contenders in the seven seats where the fate of 83 candidates will be decided by a 1,16,91,889-strong electorate.

To ensure free and fair polling the seven seats, the Commission has deployed a total of 578 companies of central forces.

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