Election 2019 Phase 4 Live Updates: 64% Overall Voter Turnout In Phase 4 Of Elections

6 years ago

New Delhi:

Overall voter turnout in the phase 4 of the national elections stood at 64 per cent. West Bengal continued to witness an impressive turnout in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections with over half of the state's electorates having voted till 3.30pm. Voters in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh also braved heat and headed to polling booths in large numbers as the states recorded 56.37 per cent and 55.22 per cent respectively. Polling booth in Jammu and Kashmir, however, were largely empty with just 8.42 per cent of the electorates voting so far.

Sporadic violence in West Bengal and reports of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines or EVMs have marred phase 4 of the national polls in which 72 seats across nine states are voting. In West Bengal's Asansol, union minister Babul Supriyo's car was vandalised outside a polling booth there. The minister has filed a complaint with the Election Commission about the violence in the state and alleged instances of booth capturing. News agency ANI tweeted a video of a clash between Trinamool Congress workers and security personnel at a polling booth in the district. The district has been witnessing heightened tension since polling began for the phase 4 of the Lok Sabha elections. A 50-year-old woman poll official died after suffering a heart attack ahead of voting in Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

Voting began across 72 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over nine states, mostly in the Hindi heartland, at 7 am. In Mumbai -- where all the six seats are voting today, actors and captains of the Indian industry were seen patiently waiting in queues early this morning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to come out and vote in large numbers and break the "records of the previous three phases". "Another phase of the General Elections begins today. I hope those voting today do so in large numbers and break the voting records of the previous three phases. A special appeal to young voters to head to the polling booth and exercise their franchise," PM Modi tweeted.

About 12.79 core voters in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir will decide the fate of 972 candidates. Prominent among them are Union Minister Giriraj Singh, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, former Union Minister Milind Murli Deora.

While 17 seats in Maharashtra are going to polls in the fourth phase, 13 seats each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, eight in West Bengal, six in Madhya Pradesh, six in Odisha, five in Bihar and three in Jharkhand are voting today. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm at all polling booths in these nine states.

In Jammu and Kashmir, polling duration for Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency has been curtailed by two hours following a request from the state police.

Of the 72 seats, mostly on the Hindi heartland, the BJP will aim to defend 56 seats it won in the 2014 elections. The Congress -- which won just 2 seats -- will aim to better its tally.

Among other parties, BJD won all six in Odisha, Trinamool Congress six in West Bengal and Samajwadi Party won a seat in Uttar Pradesh.

Polling for the seven-phase election ends on May 19, the counting of votes will be held on May 23.

Here are the live updates from Phase 4 of the Lok Sabha Election 2019:

Apr 29, 2019 20:42 (IST)