Voting begins for 49 seats in fifth phase of India General Elections 2024

Voting for the fifth phase of the ongoing India General Elections 2024began on Monday morning across 49 parliamentary constituencies spread over six states and two Union Territories UTs amid tight security and arrangementsThe voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm with those in line by the closing time still allowed to voteAccording to the Election Commission of India ECI polling for 35 assembly constituencies of the Odisha legislative assembly will also take place simultaneously on MondayAs per the ECI over 895 crore voters including 469 crore males 426 crore females and 5409 thirdgender electors will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of votingThe fifth phase of India General Elections 2024will witness key contests in various constituencies Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi BJP leaders Rajnath Singh Smriti Irani Rajiv Pratap Rudy Piyush Goyal Ujjwal Nikam Karan Bhushan Singh LJP Ramvilas chief Chirag Paswan JKNC chief Omar Abdullah and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are looking for electoral successEight statesUTs going for polls in phase 5 are Bihar Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Jharkhand Maharashtra Odisha Uttar Pradesh and West BengalCities like Mumbai Thane and Lucknow are going to the polls in this phase which has in the past suffered from urban apathy in voting The commission especially calls upon these city dwellers to erase the stigma by turning out in higher numbersOf the 49 Lok Sabha seats 14 are from Uttar Pradesh 13 from Maharashtra 7 from West Bengal 5 from Bihar 3 from Jharkhand 5 from Odisha and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and LadakhIn a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors a total of 2000 flying squads 2105 static surveillance teams 881 video surveillance teams and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94732 polling stationsA total of 216 international border check posts and 565 interstate border check posts are keeping a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor drugs cash and freebies Strict surveillance has been kept on sea and air routes the ECI saidThe ECI said that the polling stations are ready to welcome the voters with ample shade drinking water ramps toilets and other basic facilities to ensure that polling takes place in a comfortable and secure environmentThe concerned CEOs DEOs and state machinery have been advised to take adequate measures to manage hot weather conditions in areas where it is forecast it addedThe Commission has called upon voters to turn out in greater numbers at polling stations and vote with responsibility and pride Until now the Lok Sabha elections 2024 have seen a voter turnout at polling stations of about 6695 per centAround 451 million people have already voted during the first four phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024 the ECI addedECI has partnered with a host of prominent figures to appeal to and motivate voters to cast their vote during the ongoing electionsThe remaining phases of the polls will continue until June 1 with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4Polling for 23 states UTs and 379 PCs was completed in a smooth and peaceful manner in the first four phases of the general electionsWith the conclusion of four phases polling for Lok Sabha elections 2024 has crossed the halfway mark with polling completed in 23 statesUTs and 379 parliamentary constituenciesPolling is also completed in Lok Sabha elections 2024 for the state legislative assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh and the 28 assembly seats of the Odisha State AssemblyThe results of the sevenphase Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be announced on June 4With inputs from Agencies