Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his wife cast their vote in Lucknow, urge citizens to participate

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 20 [ANI]: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by his wife Savitri Singh, cast their votes on Monday in Lucknow during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Singh, who is the sitting MP and BJP candidate from the Lucknow constituency, appealed to voters nationwide to exercise their vote.
"I want to appeal to all voters in Lucknow and across the country to definitely go and vote today, bringing all your family members with you. This is our appeal," Singh stated while speaking to the media.
Expressing confidence in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Singh added, "The NDA aims to surpass 400 seats this time. I do not wish to predict the exact number of seats at this moment."
The election in Lucknow sees Singh facing off against Samajwadi Party candidate Ravidas Mehrotra. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Sarwar Malik.
After casting their votes, the couple displayed their inked fingers, symbolising their participation in the democratic process.
Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh an MLA from Noida also cast his vote and called on voters to come out in large numbers "I request all voters to vote in record numbers. The more the voting, the stronger our democracy will be. I urge our young voters and Nari Shakti to come forward in large numbers to cast their votes. Do vote for building a self-reliant and developed India."
The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections is crucial, and the Defence Minister's call to action highlights the importance of voter turnout in determining the future leadership of the country.
Lucknow, one of the 80 parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. As one of the most populous states in India, Uttar Pradesh plays a significant role in shaping the composition of the Lok Sabha.
The Congress has won the Lucknow seat six times, and the BJP has won eight times. Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, sister of the country's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, became the first MP from this high-profile seat.
The constituency has been a stronghold of the BJP since 1991. It gained prominence, with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee representing it. Vajpayee, after initial setbacks in 1955, 1957 and 1962, won the seat five times.
Earlier, while addressing a public meeting in Lucknow, Rajnath Singh said that he tried to fulfil the dreams of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and left no stone unturned for the city's development.
"We have diligently worked towards realising Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji's vision for Lucknow, and we remain committed to advancing it further in the future. Lucknow currently ranks tenth globally, and we aim to elevate it to the fifth position," Singh said.
There are 5 assembly constituencies under the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. These include Lucknow East, Lucknow West, Lucknow Central, Lucknow North and Cantt Assembly seats. There are a total of 39.33017 lakh voters in this parliamentary constituency. These include 20.82888 lakh male voters, 18.49960 lakh female voters and 169 third-gender voters.
The 2019 Lok Sabha election in Lucknow recorded a voter turnout of 54.72 per cent. BJP's candidate Rajnath Singh received 6,33,026 votes, defeating SP's Poonam Sinha and Congress' Acharya Pramod Krishnam, while receiving 56.70 per cent of the total votes.
In the 2014 elections, the BJP's Rajnath Singh, again with 5,61,106 marginal votes, defeated the Congress' Rita Bahuguna Joshi, securing 5,61,106 votes and 54.52 per cent of the vote share.
The other constituencies other than Lucknow that are voting today in Uttar Pradesh include Kaiserganj, Amethi, Mohanlalganj, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambhi, Faizabad, Barabanki, Raebareli and Gonda.
Polling for 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held across all seven phases. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. (ANI)