Voting began on Monday for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls in 72 parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states. About 12.79 crore people are eligible for voting in the fourth of the seven-phase elections.
The Election Commission has set up 1.40 lakh polling booths/stations and has made elaborate security arrangements. Polling will be held in 17 seats in Maharashtra, 13 each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, eight in West Bengal, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, five in Bihar, three in Jharkhand and a part of the Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
The stakes are high for the ruling BJP and its allies as it had swept 56 of these seats in 2014, leaving just two for the Congress and the rest for other opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress (six seats) and the Biju Janata Dal (six).
The fate of 961 candidates, including Union ministers Giriraj Singh, Subhash Bhamre, S S Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo of the BJP and former Union ministers Salman Khurshid and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress, will be decided in this phase.
Among other key contestants in the fray are Kanhaiya Kumar (CPI), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Urmila Matondkar (Congress), Dimple Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Satabdi Roy (TMC) and Milind Deora (Congress).
Election in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP had cornered all but two of the total 54 seats in 2014, will begin in this phase. The Congress appeared to make a comeback, forming the governments in the states after last year’s Assembly polls.
With this phase, election will come to an end in Maharashtra and Odisha. Voting is also being held in some Assembly constituencies in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
In the first three phases, voting has been held in 302 Lok Sabha constituencies, and 168 more seats will go to polls in the last three phases.
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.
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Voter turnout till 5 PM, overall 50%
Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan casts his vote
Voter turnout till 3 PM
Estimated voter turnout till 3 pm for the 4th phase of the Lok Sabha elections is 49.53%.
A 104 year old woman after casting her vote in the scorching heat in Mumbai.
Opposition campaign revolves around abusing Modi. If you remove these abuses, nothing will be left: PM at Sreerampur, West Bengal
Actor Salman Khan casts his vote
Bachan family cast their vote
Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Juhu.
Union Minister Smriti Irani after casting vote
PM Modi in Jharkhand
“Want to caution first-time voters against the ‘Mission Mahamilavat’; they do not want a govt with absolute majority at any cost”.
“Congress wants a weak government they can remote control”.
Estimated voter turnout till 12 pm for the 4th phase
Estimated voter turnout till 12 pm for the 4th phase of the Lok Sabha elections is 23.48%. Voting is underway in 72 constituencies, across 9 states.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray casts his vote
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi Thackeray and son Aditya Thackeray after casting their vote at a polling booth in Gandhi Nagar, Mumbai.
BJP leader Hema Malini casts her vote
Actress-turned-BJP leader Hema Malini, who is also the candidate from Mathura in UP, casts her vote at Jamnabai school polling booth in Mumbai.
She is accompanied by her daughter Esha Deol.
“It is the duty of all the citizens to vote and support PM Narendra Modi”, she urges citizens to vote.
A 95 year old woman casts her vote
She is helped out of a van with a wheelchair to cast her vote in Juhu, Mumbai.
Stone pelting near polling booths in J-K’s Kulgam
Several incidents of stone pelting took place Monday in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir where polling is underway for election to the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, police said.
Anand Mahindra casts his vote
Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra after casting his vote in Malabar Hill, says, “We all have been infected by the virus of progress and growth. Even if a coalition govt comes, it should work towards progress and growth of the country.”
Actor Madhuri Dixit casts her vote
Actor Madhuri Dixit casts her vote at a polling booth in Juhu.
Actor Paresh Rawal arrives at the polling booth to cast his vote
Actor Ravi Kishan casting his vote in Goregaon
Congress’ Eknath Gaikwad arrives at the polling booth in Dharavi.
Singer Shankar Mahadevan arrives at the polling booth in Navi Mumbai.
Bollywood Actress Priyanka Chopra arrives at the polling booth in Andheri West
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya arrives at polling booth with the family to cast his vote.
BJP candidate from Mumbai North cast his vote from Borivli
Mumbai North East BJP Shivsena RPI Mahayuti Candidate after casting his vote in Mulund, Mumbai
BJP leader Poonam Mahajan cast her vote
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