Voting has ended for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Voting has ended for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections. This round brings an end to the mammoth seven-phase exercise that saw millions of Indians voting to choose who will represent them in the 17th Lok Sabha. In the 7th phase, 59 seats went to polls across seven states and one Union territory. Among the key states voted today are Punjab (13), West Bengal (9), Madhya Pradesh (8) and Uttar Pradesh (13).
Incidents of violence in West Bengal and clashes in Punjab were reported during the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, with 56.30% polling being recorded till 5pm in 59 seats. The last phase of Lok Sabha elections, which will decide the fate of 918 candidates, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also saw EVM glitches and poll boycott at some booths. Punjab saw a polling percentage of 55.44 per cent till 5pm in 13 Lok Sabha seats. In Madhya Pradesh, 62.48 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in eight Lok Sabha seats. In Uttar Pradesh 48.90% voting was recorded till 5 pm in 13 Lok Sabha seats.
The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Here are the highlights from final phase of polling in Lok Sabha Election 2019:
Percentage change in voter turnout in comparison to 2014
What poll of polls predict (state-wise)
Uttar Pradesh: 44 seats to the BJP and ally Apna Dal, 34 seats to the alliance
West Bengal: Over 12 seats for BJP, 24 for Trinamool Congress
Odisha: BJP neck-to-neck with Biju Janata Dala at 10 seats
Maharashtra: BJP-Sena 36 seats, Congress-NCP may get 11
Tamil Nadu: DMK may win 26, BJP-AIADMK 11
Voting For Final Phase Of Lok Sabha Elections Ends
BJP's Anupam Hazra alleges special mark put on Trinamool Congress symbol to misguide voters
"I spoke to a few voters who said the presiding officer was whispering to them that they need to press the button which is inked. It's clearly a pre-planned game," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI
Voter turnout till 5 pm
Overall--53.03%
Bihar-46.75%
Himachal Pradesh- 57.43%
Madhya Pradesh-59.75%
Punjab-50.49%
Uttar Pradesh-47.21%
West Bengal- 64.87%
Jharkhand-66.64%
Chandigarh-51.18%
(Source: ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee casts her vote in Kolkata
Voter turnout till 3 pm (news agency ANI)
Overall--51.95%
Bihar-46.66%
Himachal Pradesh- 49.43%
Madhya Pradesh-57.27%
Punjab-48.18%
Uttar Pradesh-46.07%
West Bengal- 63.58%
Jharkhand-64.81%
Chandigarh-50.24%
Clashes Break Out At Polling Booth In Punjab's Talwandi Sabo, 1 Injured
One pperson has been injured after clashes between two groups outside a polling booth in Talwandi Sabo. The police said, "Poll violence took place here, one person opened fire. We've recorded statements and registered a case. Polling has resumed,"
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7: TMC's Candidate from Basirhat, Nusrat Jahan greets people after casting her vote in the constituency in West Bengal.
World's Highest Polling Station Set Up In Himachal Pradesh
The world's highest polling station, at Tashigang in Lahaul-Spiti is at an altitude of 15, 256 feet above sea level. The voting booth is a part of the Mandi Parliamentary constituency.
2019 Indian General Elections Phase 7: TMC star candidate Munmun Sen with her daughters actress Ria and Raima Sen casts their vote in David Hare Training College, South Kolkata Constituency.
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7: After casting his vote, Congress candidate from Varanasi, Ajay Rai takes a dig at his principle opponent PM Modi and says that none of the developmental work taken up by him in the constituency is permanent in nature.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019 Phase 7: BJP veteran MM Joshi casts his vote in Varanasi. He did not contest this time as he wasn't given a ticket by BJP. BJP did not give a ticket to leaders who are above 75.
2019 Indian General Elections Phase 7: A son carried his 80-year-old mother to a polling booth in Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency so she can cast her vote.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: Voter turn out till 11:00 AM for the seventh and concluding phase of the Lok Sabha election:
Uttar Pradesh 21.9%
West Bengal 32.2%
Punjab 23.4%
Madhya Pradesh 28.4%
Punjab Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, cast their votes at booth number-134 in Amritsar.
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7: All 13 seats of Punjab are voting in phase 7 Sunny Deol is BJP's choice to wrestle Gurdaspur parliamentary seat back from Congress. He is pitted against Congress' Sunil Jakhar.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: Urge people To Vote, Says Amarinder Singh
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, takes to Twitter to urge all voters in Punjab to come out and exercise their right to franchise in large numbers. "Remember, the future of India & your state is in your hands. Each and every vote would count," he writes. All 13 seats in the state are voting today in the concluding phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 7: Protests Erupt in Bengal's Basirhat Voters hold protest outside polling station number 189 in Basirhat in West Bengal and accuse TMC of booth capturing. BJP MP candidate from Basirhat, Sayantan Basu says, "100 people were stopped from voting. We will take them to cast their vote."
2019 Indian General Elections Phase 7: Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan casts her vote at a polling booth in Indore.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: 10 Per cent Polling Recorded Till 9 am In Uttar Pradesh
Nearly 10 per cent voting was recorded in the first two hours of polling in 13 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was among the early voters in Gorakhpur, said, "People are fighting this election for nation's interest and if someone cannot understand this thing, his IQ is questionable. The entire election revolved around Modiji. With big achievements of his government during the last five years, the BJP will win the election." Ram Bhuwal Nishad, the SP-BSP alliance candidate also voted at Daunadih Prathmik Vidyalaya booth number 295 in Gorakhpur at 7.30 AM. Union minister of state for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla also exercised his franchise in Gorakhpur. He said BJP candidate Ravi Kishan will win with more than 3 lakh votes and the BJP will form government at the Centre.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: 13.41 Per cent Polling Recorded Till 9 am In West Bengal
An estimated 13.41 per cent of the 1,49,63,064 voters exercised their franchise in nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal till 9 am on Sunday, an Election Commission official said. Polling in the first two hours was peaceful, the official said. "Polling till 9AM in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies is absolutely peaceful. We have received no complaints of any violence or any problem from anywhere in any of the polling booths in these constituencies. However, our officers are alert and ready to counter any untoward incident," a senior IPS officer told PTI.
Till 9 am, Jadavpur recorded the highest turnout with 17.11 per cent followed by Dum Dum 16.57 per cent, he said. Mathurapur (SC) witnessed 15.68 per cent, Basirhat 15.67 per cent, Barasat 14.78 per cent, Diamond Harbour 13.32 per cent followed by Kolkata Dakshin 11.92 per cent, Jaynagar, 11.43 per cent and Kolkata Uttar 11.08 per cent, the official said.
In Madhya Pradesh a total of 1.50 crore voters will decide the fate of 82 candidates, including six female, in the fray. Madhya Pradesh poses a big challenge for the BJP as it lost power after over a decade in the 2018 Assembly elections that paved the way for Congress leader Kamal Nath to become the Chief Minister.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019 Phase 7: Congress leader Manish Tewari casts vote in Ludhiana Former Union Minister and Congress's candidate from Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency, Manish Tewari cast his vote at Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019 Phase 7: In Madhya Pradesh, a specially-abled woman, Sonu Mali casts her vote at polling booth no. 316 in Nanda Nagar, Indore.
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7: Om Prakash Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, has voted in Uttar Pradesh. His party is an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He had recently asked his party workers to beat BJP leaders with shoes. Mr Rajbhar said that BJP leaders should be ashamed for using his party's (SBSP) name in the election campaign to garner OBC votes.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7 voting: Voter Turn Out for Phase 7 till 9:00 AM | Here is the voter turn out till 9:00 AM for the seven states and one union territory that go to the polls in the final phase today.
Madhya Pradesh 11%
Punjab 8.2%
West Bengal 13.3%
Uttar Pradesh 7.0%
Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 7: Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya casts his vote at polling booth number 316 in Indore.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7 voting: Congress leader Manish Tewari votes in Ludhiana. He is contesting from Punjab's Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: 10 Battles To Look Out For In Final Round Of Mega Polls
Fifty nine seats in seven states are voting today in the final round of the mammoth national election that began last month, with several heavyweights including Prime Minister Narendra Modi facing the electoral test. The fate of 918 candidates, including Shatrughan Sinha, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sunny Deol, Kirron Kher and Misa Bharti will be decided today. In West Bengal, the polling is taking place in the shadow of the violence that forced the Election Commission to order the campaigning to be ended 20 hours before scheduled time.
Election 2019 Phase 7: PM Modi Tweets As Polling Begins For 7th Phase
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this morning and urged voters in 59 parliamentary constituencies in seven states and a union territory polling in the last phase phase of national elections to step out and "vote in record numbers". "Today is the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. I urge all those voting in this phase to vote in record numbers. Your one vote will shape India's development trajectory in the years to come. I also hope first time voters vote enthusiastically," PM Modi, who is seeking a re-election from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, tweeted. PM Modi is seeking a second term in Varanasi from where he won the 2014 election by over 3.7 lakh votes in 2014. He faces Congress's Ajay Rai and grand alliance candidate Shalini Yadav.
Lok Sabha Polls 2019 Phase 7: Residents of Tara Jivanpur village in district Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh have alleged that ink was forcefully applied to their fingers and they were given Rs 500 yesterday by 3 men of their village.
2019 Indian General Elections Phase 7: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC leader, Abhishek Banerjee casts his vote at polling booth no. 208 in South Kolkata Parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: In West Bengal, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from South Kolkata parliamentary constituency,Chandra Kumar Bose casts his vote at a polling booth in City College, in Kolkata.
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7: Rahul Sinha, BJP candidate in Kolkata North constituency, votes at polling station in Jadavpur. Kolkata witnessed clashes between BJP and Trinamool workers at Amit Shah's roadshow on May 14.
General Elections 2019 Phase 7: Cricketer Harbhajan Singh waits in queue to cast his vote at a polling booth in Jalandhar's Garhi village.
Lok Sabha Elections Phase 7:Yogi Adityanath Votes Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath among the early voters in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha poll. "I am fortunate to be a part of this massive electoral exercise," says Adityanath, after casting his vote at polling booth no 246 in UP's Gorakhpur.
Lok Sabha elections Phase 7: Voting in the final phase of the 2019 general election has begun.
2019 Indian General Elections Phase 7: Punjab visuals from polling station no.52 at Government Senior Secondary School Girls in Dera Baba Nanak of Gurdaspur. Voting for the 7th and last phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will begin today.
Last Round Voting Begins Today
The last round of voting today will bring an end to the mammoth seven-phase exercise that saw millions of Indians voting to choose who will represent them in the 17th Lok Sabha.