Voting is underway in 49 constituencies across six states and two Union Territories in phase 5 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 today, May 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged women and young voters to turn out in large numbers, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke of a sweeping storm of change.
Polling began at 7 am in Uttar Pradesh (14 seats), Maharashtra (13), West Bengal (7), Bihar (5), Odisha (5), Jharkhand (3), and one seat each in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
This phase features several high-profile contests, with prominent ministers and leaders in the fray. After a dip in voter turnout in the first three phases, the fourth phase saw a significant increase. As of 9 am today, the voter turnout stood at 10.28%, with West Bengal leading at 15%, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 12.89%, and Jharkhand at 11.68%.
The Election Commission of India reported an overall turnout of 66.95% for the first four phases, as of May 16. Besides the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha are also voting today. Over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore men, 4.26 crore women, and 5,409 third-gender electors, are eligible to vote. There are also over 7.81 lakh voters aged 85+, and 24,792 voters aged 100+.
Approximately 9.47 lakh polling officials have been deployed across 94,732 polling stations. In 2019, the BJP won 32 of the 49 seats, with its allies securing seven more. The BJP had a vote share exceeding 40% in at least 30 seats. The Congress won only Raebareli, while its allies, including the TMC, won seven seats. The NDA secured 39 seats, the INDIA bloc eight, and the BJD two.
By the end of today's voting, elections will have been held for over three-fourths of the 543 Lok Sabha seats (428). The final two phases will occur on May 25 and June 1, with vote counting on June 4. The NDA, led by Prime Minister Modi, aims to win 400 seats, facing a strong challenge from the opposition's INDIA bloc.
