Phase-V of the Lok Sabha polls sees 62.56 per cent polling

A provisional voter turnout of 62.56 per cent was reported in the fifth and smallest of the seven phases of elections for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Fifty-one seats in seven States faced elections during this phase. During the 2014 elections, the voter-turnout after the 5th phase was 61.75 per cent.

Briefing the media here this evening, Election Commission officials said the final figures are likely to go up.

Unlike the earlier phases, violence was reported from West Bengal and a poll boycott in some districts of Rajasthan, including Bikaner, Suratnagar and Dungapur Assembly constituencies.

Officials added that officers in Rajasthan later convinced voters to go and cast their ballot. The initial poll boycott was because voters were angry over road construction and water scarcity.

In West Bengal a grenade was thrown about a kilometre from a polling station while a second grenade, which failed to go off, was thrown in another polling station, officials said.

West Bengal reported the highest provisional voter-turnout of 73.97 per cent (81.37 per cent in 2014) while Ananthnag in Kashmir reported the lowest voter-turnout at 8.76 per cent as compared to 28.54 per cent in 2014.

Rajasthan saw a voter-turnout of 63.75 per cent (61.80 per cent in 2014), Bihar a provisional voter turnout of 57.86 per cent (55.69 per cent in 2014) and Uttar Pradesh witnessed 57.33 per cent (56.92 per cent in 2014) polling.

With the fifth phase, 424 of the 543 Parliamentary constituencies have completed the poll process. On Monday, 26 of the 36 States and Union Territories completed the poll process.

Elections were held for 14 seats in UP, 12 in Rajasthan, seven seats each in M.P. and West Bengal, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand and two in Jammu and Kashmir.

All those in fray

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is contesting from Lucknow, Union Minister Jayant Sinha from Hazribagh, UPA Chiarperson Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli and Congress President Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, among others are in fray for the fifth phase.

While 91 Lok Sabha seats went to polls during the first phase on April 11, the third phase on April 23 saw 115 seats. During the second phase, 97 Lok Sabha seats went to the polls and 71 Lok Sabha seats in the fourth phase. The last two phases will see 59 seats each going to the polls.

The voter-turnout during the first phase was recorded at 69.50 per cent, while it was 69.44 per cent in the following phase and 68.40 per cent in the third. The fourth phase reported a voter-turnout of 65.51 per cent.

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