New Delhi, June 1: Over 59.45%percent turnout has been recorded in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections today.
With this, the general elections to the 18th Lok Sabha concluded with peaceful polling
57 parliamentary constituencies spanning eight states: Bihar, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal went to the polls in the seventh phase. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly constituencies in Odisha took place simultaneously.
Mamata Banerjee, Anurag Singh Thakur, JP Nadda, Bhagwant Mann, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Yogi Adityanath, Raghav Chadha, and Tejashwi Yadav were among the prominent politicians who have cast their ballots on Saturday
Among the key candidates in the fray in the last phase include Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Varanasi), Kangana Ranaut (Mandi), Vikramaditya Singh (Mandi), Jailed Sikh leader Amritpal Singh (Khadoor Sahib), former Punjab chief minister Charanjeet Singh Channi (Jalandhar), Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti (Pataliputra), and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee (Diamond Harbour).
This will mark an end to the seven-phase-long Lok Sabha elections that started on 19 April. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on 4 June.
Over 10.06 crore voters – including approximately 5.24 crore men, 4.82 crore women, and 3,574 third-gender voters – will be voting in the last phase.
Both PM Narendra Modi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge urged people to vote in large numbers.
In Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi constituency, BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut will lock horns with Congress’ Vikramaditya Singh
Jailed Sikh leader Amritpal Singh is contesting as an Independent from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat.
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti is being challenged by BJP’s Ram Kripal Yadav among others.
In West Bengal, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee is vying for a third term from the Diamond Harbour constituency.
Voting began early morning across 57 constituencies spanning seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to decide the fate of 904 candidates in the fray. The campaigning for the polls concluded on Thursday with top leaders holding massive rallies across the country.
Election Commission of India has said that it was “deeply humbled” by the voters who turned up for polling despite their challenges and dilemmas. The remarks come after the final phase of voting of the 6-week-long Lok Sabha polls.
“Indian voters have given their most cherished right to vote for the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha. Indian democracy and Indian elections have again done the magic. The great Indian voters, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, socio-economic and educational background have done it once again,” the poll body said.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and the EC family are “deeply humbled by the voters, who made it to the polling station overcoming many challenges and dilemmas they might have,” it said.
