LS polls phase 7: Over 58 per cent voting till 5 pm

New Delhi: A voter turnout of 58.34 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths lodged.

Polling is underway in seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for 57 constituencies, including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha.

Voting is being held amid a severe heatwave in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh are also taking place simultaneously.

Saturday’s voting will mark the end of the marathon polling process that began on April 19. The assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also went to polls. The BJP-led NDA is seeking a rare consecutive third term in office. The Opposition INDIA bloc is trying to upset the NDA applecart by putting up a joint fight in some states.

The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. In Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the counting for the Assembly polls will be held on June 2.

Till 5 pm, the estimated polling percentage was 58.34, according to the EC’s voter-turnout app.

A voter turnout of nearly 67.95 per cent was recorded in Jharkhand. Uttar Pradesh logged a polling percentage of 54, West Bengal 69.89, Bihar 48.86 and Himachal Pradesh 66.56.

Punjab recorded a voter turnout of 55.20 per cent till 5 pm while Chandigarh registered a voting percentage of 62.80. Odisha recorded around 62.46 per cent voting.

The turnout in the first six phases of the general election was 66.14 per cent, 66.71 per cent, 65.68 per cent, 69.16 per cent, 62.2 per cent and 63.36 per cent respectively. The poll panel had called upon voters to turn out in greater numbers and vote with responsibility and pride.

In Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters over allegations of electoral malpractices. BJP candidate Rekha Patra alleged that TMC goons stopped voters from casting their votes. The TMC made counter allegations and accused Patra and BJP goons of trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere.

As both the groups came to blows on Basanti express highway, police resorted to baton charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the mob.

Basirhat SP Hossain Mehedi Rahaman said three persons were injured during the clash between TMC and BJP supporters at Bayramari in Sandeshkhali, adding that one person was arrested in this connection.

TMC and BJP workers also clashed in some parts of Jadavpur and Diamond Harbour constituencies.

Clashes broke out between supporters of the TMC, Indian Secular Front (ISF) and BJP in Jadavpur as the parties alleged that their polling agents were stopped from entering booths.

A confrontation erupted in Bhangar within the Jadavpur constituency between TMC and ISF supporters, with allegations of crude bombs being hurled from both sides.

Police intervention ensued, triggering protests as both factions accused each other.

To quell the situation, security personnel resorted to a lathicharge and seized several crude bombs.

Prime Minister Modi appealed to people to exercise their franchise.

“Together, let’s make our democracy more vibrant and participative,” the prime minister said on X.

“Today is the final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. As 57 seats across 8 states and UTs go to the polls, calling upon the voters to turnout in large numbers and vote. I hope young and women voters exercise their franchise in record numbers,” he added.

Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and actor Kangana Ranaut.

More than 10.06 crore citizens, including nearly 5.24 crore men, 4.82 crore women and 3,574 third-gender electors, are eligible to vote in this phase.

According to the EC’s guidelines, television channels and news outlets will be able to run exit poll data and its results after 6:30 pm.

The campaigning for the last phase, which ended on Thursday evening, saw ruling BJP leaders, led by Modi, accusing the Congress and the INDIA opposition bloc of being corrupt, anti-Hindu and engaging in loot, appeasement and dynastic politics.

The opposition parties have been claiming that the BJP is anti-farmer, anti-youth and will change and scrap the Constitution if it wins the election.

Polling is being held in eight Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar, along with the bypoll to the Agiaon Assembly seat. Union minister R K Singh and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad are among the contestants in the fray.

The Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda seats in Jharkhand are going to polls in this phase. All eyes are on Dumka, where the BJP’s Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, is contesting against the INDIA bloc’s Nalin Soren. Sita Soren, a three-term former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator, joined the BJP just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Polling is being held for six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly seats in Odisha.

Assembly Speaker Pramila Mallik, the government’s chief whip Prashant Muduli, Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal and BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda are among the candidates in the fray.

Voting is also being held for the Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar seats in West Bengal.

Several heavyweight candidates, including incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Sougata Roy and Mala Roy, former Union minister Debasree Chaudhuri of the BJP and senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty, are in the fray.

Voting is underway in 13 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, which sends the highest number of 80 members to the Lok Sabha among all the states.

In Punjab, INDIA bloc allies — the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — are contesting the election separately, while the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are fighting the polls on their own for the first time since 1996.

Polling is being held for four Lok Sabha seats — Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla — and six Assembly constituencies of Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar in Himachal Pradesh. All eyes are on Mandi, where Ranaut of the BJP has locked horns with the Congress’s Vikramaditya Singh.

The voting is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm, barring in Jharkhand, where it is scheduled to conclude at 5 pm.