(Inputs IANS)
New Delhi: The April leg of the multi-phase Indian elections will end Wednesday on a high note, sealing the electoral fortunes of heavyweights Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi and Rajnath Singh.
Nearly 140 million voters will have their say in 89 seats across seven states and two Union Territories — Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu — in phase 7 of polling. Overall, 1,295 candidates are in the fray. After phase 7, polling will end for 438 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats, leaving 105 to be decided in two phases in May.
Bihar votes for Lok Sabha, assembly
Patna: Lok Sabha polls for seven seats of Bihar and bypoll for one state assembly seat began Wednesday, officials said.
Prominent candidates include Sharad Yadav, Hukum Deo Narain Yadav, Ali Ashraf Fatmi, Kirti Azad, and Pappu Yadav. As many as 94 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls in Madhepura, Jhanjharpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Begusarai and Khagaria.
By-poll is being held for the Sahebpur Kamal assembly seat in Begusarai district. Former minister Parveen Amanullah resigned from the seat and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. More than 11 million people are eligible to vote at 10,157 polling booths. A total of 58,215 poll officials have been tasked with the job of holding the polls.
Punjab votes for Lok Sabha
Chandigarh: Balloting began Wednesday in Punjab for all its 13 Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls in a single phase, officials said.
Prominent candidates are Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Arun Jaitley, Congress’s Amarinder Singh, and three-time BJP MP, actor Vinod Khanna. As many as 253 candidates are in the fray.
People queued up at polling stations even before 7 a.m. A total of 234,011 poll officials have been deployed. The Election Commission is expecting a voter turnout of 80 percent this time. In the 2009 election, Punjab had recorded over 70 percent polling. Over 75,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been stationed across the state to ensure peaceful polling, said Director General of Police Suresh Arora.
Punjab has 13,582 polling stations and 22,060 polling booths. Out of these, 2,442 polling stations have been declared hyper-sensitive and 4,632 sensitive, Arora said.
Andhra Pradesh votes for Lok Sabha, assembly
Hyderabad: Simultaneous balloting began Wednesday in Andhra Pradesh for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 state assembly seats in Telangana region, officials said.
The key contestants for the Lok Sabha are union Ministers S. Jaipal Reddy, Sarve Satyanarayana and Balram Naik, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, Lok Satta Party chief Jayaprakash Narayan and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi.
Telangana will formally become a state June 2. The main contenders for the assembly seats include Chandrasekhara Rao, Congress’s Telangana unit president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, working president Uttam Kumar Reddy, former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, and former state ministers Geeta Reddy and D Sridhar Babu. Balloting is taking place at 30,574 polling booths.
As many as 265 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha and 1,669 for the assembly seats. More than 28.17 million electors are eligible to exercise their franchise.
West Bengal votes for Lok Sabha
Kolkata: Simultaneous balloting in West Bengal for nine Lok Sabha seats and bypoll for one state assembly seat began Wednesday, officials said.
The BJP has fielded celebrities like Bollywood music composer Bappi Lahiri, Bengali actor George Baker and journalist Chandan Mitra. As many as 87 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha seats and four for the Galsi state assembly seat.
Over 13.8 million voters are eligible to vote in 17,330 polling booths.
Srinagar votes
Srinagar: Balloting in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir began Wednesday, officials said.
The main contest is between Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference and Tariq Hamid Karra of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As many as 14 candidates are in the fray.
Over 1.23 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 1,546 polling booths. Due to security reasons, just 55 polling stations in this seat have been declared normal, while all the others have been categorised as hyper-sensitive and sensitive. Polling will end at 5 p.m. Around 50 companies of central armed forces and over 10,000 police personnel have been deployed.
UP votes for Lok Sabha, assembly
Lucknow: Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies and by-polls for two state assembly seats began in Uttar Pradesh Wednesday, officials said.
The candidates to look out for include Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli and Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh from Lucknow. The other prominent contenders include BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi from Kanpur against former union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal of the Congress.
Over 24.6 million voters are eligible to vote at 25,380 polling booths. As many as 233 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli votes
Ahmedabad: Balloting for the lone Lok Sabha seat of Dadra and Nagar Haveli began Wednesday, officials said. As many as 11 candidates are in the fray.
A total of 188,783 people are eligible to vote at 163 polling booths across the union territory.
Voting begins in Daman and Diu
Daman: Voting for the lone parliamentary constituency of Daman and Diu began Wednesday, officials said. Just four candidates are in the fray. Balloting is taking place at 119 polling stations. As many as 102,260 electors are eligible to exercise their franchise in the union territory.
Balloting begins in Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Lok Sabha polls in all 26 seats of Gujarat and by-polls for seven state assembly seats began Wednesday, officials said.
A total of 334 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha. Balloting is taking place at 45,380 polling stations where over 234,000 polling personnel have been deployed. More than 40 million people are eligible to vote in all 26 constituencies where voting is being held in a single phase.
Voting starts in Srinagar
Srinagar: Balloting for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir began Wednesday, officials said.
As many as 14 candidates are in the fray, including Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference. Over 1.23 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 1,546 polling booths. Around 50 companies of central armed forces and over 10,000 police personnel have been deployed.
West Bengal votes
Kolkata: Lok Sabha polls in nine constituencies and bypoll for one state assembly seat began in West Bengal Wednesday, officials said. As many as 87 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha seats and four for the Galsi state assembly seat. Over 13.8 million people are eligible to vote at 17,330 polling booths.
Bihar votes
Patna: Lok Sabha polls for seven seats of Bihar and bypoll for one state assembly seat began Wednesday, officials said.
As many as 94 candidates are in the fray in the Lok Sabha polls. More than 11 million electors are eligible to vote at 10,157 polling booths where a total 58,215 poll officials have been deployed.
