The marathon polling process has reached its climax, as polling for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections which began at 7am today, concluded.
Polling concluded in 57 seats, including 13 in Punjab and four in Himachal Pradesh, besides 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The fate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term from Varanasi and other prominent faces will be determined today.
Saturday's voting marks the end of the polls that began on April 19 and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
Meanwhile, polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and by-elections to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh also took place simultaneously.
The BJP aims for a significant victory in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections, benefiting from significant infrastructure progress, government welfare programs, and especially the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led NDA had won 11 of the 13 seats of this phase, whereas the BSP had clinched two—Ghosi and Ghazipur—while contesting in alliance with the SP. However, the SP and Congress had failed to open their account.
Besides having the task of reclaiming the two seats it had lost in 2019, the BJP has the bigger challenge of increasing PM Modi’s victory margin from the previous figure of 4.80 lakh.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Modi won the seat with a margin of over 6,74,664 votes with a vote share of 63.6%. In 2014, Modi had contested from two Lok Sabha seats: Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in UP.
The Varanasi seat comprises five Assembly segments: Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapuri.
The voting for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency will be held in the seventh phase of the elections on June 1. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4.
BJP candidate from Jharkhand's Dumka Lok Sabha seat, Sita Soren, on Saturday alleged irregularities in the voting process and demanded re-polling in the constituency.
Sita, the sister-in-law of jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren, claimed that the voting process was being intentionally delayed.
"I have visited several booths in Dumka urban and found irregularities. I have informed the deputy commissioner in this regard. Inexperienced booth level officers (BLOs) have been deployed due to which electors are facing trouble," Sita said.
She alleged, "The delay is being done deliberately. I will write to Election Commission to cancel the voting here and conduct a re-poll."
Sita, a three-time JMM MLA, joined the BJP on March 20, citing "isolation" and "neglect" by the JMM since the death of her husband, Durga Soren, in 2009.
An approximate voter turnout of 59.15 per cent was recorded on Saturday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths lodged.
Polling was conducted in seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for 57 constituencies, including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha.
Voting was held amid a severe heatwave in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh.