Voter turnout of 59.82 pc recorded so far as polling concludes in Phase 6 of Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi [India], May 25 (ANI): Despite hot weather in certain parts of the country, an approximate voter turnout of 59.82 per cent was recorded so far in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, according to the Election Commission of India.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout, approximately 78.20 per cent so far and Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest, with 53.38 per cent recorded so far, as per the ECI.
The voter turnouts in the remaining States/UTs are Bihar - 54.68 per cent, Haryana - 59.36 per cent, Jharkhand - 63.27 per cent, NCT of Delhi - 56.04 per cent, Odisha - 60.97 per cent and Uttar Pradesh - 54.03 per cent.
The ECI said that polling across all constituencies was held smoothly and peacefully. CEC Rajiv Kumar and ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also voted, along with their families, in their respective polling stations. Stringent security measures were in place, creating a conducive environment for voters to cast their vote without fear or intimidation, it said.
Over 11.13 crore voters which include 5.84 crore males, 5.29 crore females and 5120 third-gender electors, exercised their franchise in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls. Around 11.4 lakh polling officials were involved in conducting this phase of the election.
Polling in Anantnag-Rajouri PC in Jammu and Kashmir was completely peaceful with a turnout of 53.38 per cent so far, which is the highest in many decades. With this, the polling to the parliamentary seats in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir has concluded. Polling took place in 2338 polling stations across the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary constituency with live webcasting at the polling stations.
A total of 20 candidates are in the fray including 2 women for the Lok Sabha seat from Anantnag-Rajouri.
In the ongoing general elections 2024, the three parliamentary constituencies in the Valley namely Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri have recorded voter turnouts which is highest in many decades.
Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand, NCT Delhi, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, are the States/UTs that went to polls in this phase. A total of 889 candidates were in the electoral fray.
All parliamentary seats in Delhi and Haryana went to polls in this phase.
Some key seats in this phase include New Delhi, North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi and Chandni Chowk in the national capital and Sultanpur and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri, West Bengal's Tamluk, Medinipur, Haryana's Karnal, Kurukshetra, Gurgaon, Rohtak, and Odisha's Bhubaneswar, Puri and Sambalpur are some of the other key seats. Stakes are high for the BJP as well as for the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and other constituents of the INDIA bloc in this phase of the election.
The sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls includes eight seats in Bihar, all 10 seats in Haryana, one seat in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Jharkhand, all seven seats in Delhi, six in Odisha, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, and eight in West Bengal. A total of 889 candidates are in the fray.
In Odisha, 42 assembly constituencies went to polls simultaneously with the parliamentary constituencies.
Scenes of colourful jubilation at having exercised their cherished franchise emerged from across the State which recorded a voter turnout of 61.30 per cent so far.
With the conclusion of phase 6, polling for general elections 2024 is now completed in 28 States/UTs and 486 PCs. Polling is also complete in general elections for state legislative assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh and 105 assembly seats of Odisha state assembly.
The next and last phase (Phase 7) polling is scheduled on June 1 in 57 parliamentary constituencies in 8 States/UTs. (ANI)