Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 6 Voting Highlights: Peaceful polling across 58 constituencies, 61.76 per cent voter turnout recorded

Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, also cast her vote. After voting, she posted on X, “Today, I exercised my right to vote by participating in this great festival of elections for the massive victory of justice over injustice. An appeal to all of you is to reach your polling booth in large numbers and exercise your right to vote to protect democracy and the Constitution. If Hemant is there then there is courage! Jharkhand will not bow down! INDIA will not stop!”

Former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni cast his vote at a booth in JVM Shyamli School in Ranchi. He was accompanied by his wife Sakshi, his father Pan Singh and mother Devaki Devi, reached JVM Shyamli, where he did his schooling, around noon.

A total of 82.16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in these four constituencies, with Dhanbad having the highest number of electors at 22.85 lakh, and Giridih the lowest at 18.64 lakh.

Jharkhand recorded a 42.54 percent voter turnout in its four Lok Sabha constituencies by 1 pm during the sixth phase of elections on Saturday. Polling began at 7 am in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur seats, with voting to continue until 5 pm. Giridih recorded the highest turnout at 45.82 percent, followed by Jamshedpur (43.44 per cent), Ranchi (41.83 per cent), and Dhanbad (39.83 per cent).

Approximately 39.13 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 PM for the ongoing sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Here’s the voter turnout data state-wise.

Bihar: 36.48 per cent

Haryana: 36.48 per cent

Jammu and Kashmir: 35.22 per cent

Jharkhand: 42.54 per cent

NCT of Delhi: 34.37 per cent

Odisha: 35.69 per cent

Uttar Pradesh: 37.23 per cent

West Bengal: 54.80 per cent

In West Bengal’s Lok Sabha elections, tension was palpable as TMC supporters protested against BJP candidates across the state. In Tamluk, BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay faced resistance from a group of voters at a polling booth, where he faced slogans saying “Go Back”.

In the Ghatal constituency, BJP candidate Hiran Chattopadhyay was stopped by villagers in Keshpur. They accused BJP workers of assaulting TMC activists in the region. Chattopadhyay further alleged collusion between central forces and state police in favour of the TMC at certain locations.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury casts his vote in Vasant Kunj’s Deep Public School, Delhi. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I have voted for India and for my country. I have voted for democracy, unity of my country and for my Constitution.”

Brinda Karat, expressing her concerns said, “We came to vote, they are saying that the machine’s battery is down. If the machine’s battery is down early in the morning, imagine what is the condition of the Election Commission.”

“I have written a complaint here, how is it that in the morning at 9 am the battery of the machine is down? What are the arrangements that they have made? People are waiting here in the heat for so long,” she said.

Karat later told PTI she had to wait for around 50 minutes. The machine had been down for around 20 minutes before she arrived.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat alleged that she experienced an hour-long delay in casting her vote due to a drained-out battery in the EVM control unit at her polling booth in the New Delhi constituency. She went to cast her vote at a polling booth set up at St Columba’s School in the New Delhi constituency.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says that people are voting in large numbers against dictatorship, inflation and unemployment.

Former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrives at a polling booth set up in Jawahar Vidya Mandir School in Jharkhand’s Ranchi to cast his vote.

In the national capital, early voters included President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi minister Atishi, and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Outgoing East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir also exercised his franchise early in the day.

A ‘yellow’ warning is in place for the day and the weather office has predicted that the mercury is likely to reach a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius, as the Delhi Lok Sabha elections are underway.

With 1.52 crore eligible voters, including more than 2.52 lakh first-time voters, the BJP aims for a third consecutive clean sweep in Delhi. The opposition INDIA bloc, comprising AAP and the Congress, contest under a four-three seat-share formula, marking the first Lok Sabha election where they fielded joint candidates in Delhi.

As polling continues in Delhi for its seven Lok Sabha constituencies, a voter turnout of 21.69 percent was recorded till 11 am. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer said the highest turnout, at 24.49 percent, was in the North East Delhi constituency, while Chandni Chowk witnessed the lowest at 18.55 percent.

There was a 23.11% voter turnout till 11 am in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Deepender Singh Hooda of the Congress party has cast his vote in Rohtak.

During the 2019 elections, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged victorious in Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Puri, and Cuttack constituencies, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched victories in Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar.

As of 11 am, approximately 25.76% of voters have cast their ballots across 58 constituencies in today’s Lok Sabha Election 2024, according to the Election Commission of India. Notably, West Bengal saw a higher turnout at 36.88%, while Uttar Pradesh recorded 27.06%. In Delhi, the turnout stood at 21.69%, and in the Anantnag Rajouri seat of Jammu and Kashmir, it was 23.1%.

Somnath Bharti, the candidate representing the INDIA bloc, has raised allegations of foul play by the BJP in the New Delhi seat where he is contesting. Bharti is in direct competition with Bansuri Swaraj of the BJP for the New Delhi seat.

Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP candidate for Tamluk, encountered protests from a segment of voters at a polling booth, where he was confronted with “go back” slogans.

Similarly, Hiran Chattopadhyay, the BJP candidate for Ghatal constituency, faced obstruction from villagers in Keshpur. The villagers accused saffron party workers of assaulting Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists in the vicinity. Chattopadhyay further alleged collusion between central forces and state police in aiding the TMC in certain areas.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal cast their vote at a polling booth in Civil Lines, Delhi.

“My father, my wife, and my children have cast their vote today. My mother couldn’t come today. I appeal to every voter to use their right to vote against dictatorship,” says Kejriwal after casting his vote.

Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma casts her vote in Delhi. Sharma, the then BJP spokesperson, was suspended from the party in June 2022 after her controversial comments on the Prophet in May 2022 sparked global outrage. 

“Let’s all come out and celebrate the festival of democracy. Voting is not just our right, but also it is our duty,” says BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi after casting her vote in Delhi.

Repolling is underway at polling booth no. 343 in the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency due to a viral video showing a minor casting multiple votes, prompting the Election Commission to take action.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed a voter turnout of 12.33 per cent by 9 am as polling commenced in 14 constituencies during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The voting began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. According to the Election Commission, Allahabad recorded a turnout of 9.37 per cent, Ambedkar Nagar 14.61 percent, Azamgarh 14.17 per cent, Basti 14.26 per cent, Bhadohi 12.84 per cent, Domariaganj 13.38 per cent, Jaunpur 12.91 per cent, Lalganj 10.95 per cent, Machhlishahar 13.33 per cent, Phulpur 7.45 per cent, Pratapgarh 12.89 per cent, Sant Kabir Nagar 12.73 per cent, Shrawasti 9.95 per cent, and Sultanpur 14.11 per cent.

The BJP is contesting three out of the eight seats, including Pashchim Champaran, where former state president Sanjay Jaiswal seeks a fourth consecutive win. The saffron party also supports sitting MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal in Maharajganj. Sigriwal faces competition from Akash Prasad Singh of the Congress, son of Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who heads the party’s state unit.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) is contesting four seats, including Sheohar, which was won by the BJP five years ago. In Sheohar, the contest is between JD(U)’s Lovely Anand and RJD’s Ritu Jaiswal. Jaiswal is capitalizing on the discontent among Vaishyas, traditionally BJP supporters, after the denial of a ticket to sitting MP Rama Devi. JD(U) fielded Anand, hoping to leverage the popularity her family enjoys among upper caste Rajputs.

In Siwan, the dynamics have shifted with the entry of Hina Shahab as an Independent. Shahab’s late husband, Mohd Shahabuddin, had won the seat multiple times. The JD(U) has aimed to strengthen its OBC base by fielding a newcomer, Vijaylakshmi Kushwaha, instead of sitting MP Kavita Singh. RJD’s Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, a seasoned leader and former assembly speaker, is contesting from Siwan.

In the initial two hours of polling on Saturday, approximately 9.66 per cent of the total 1.49 crore voters across eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar cast their votes. The voting started at 7 am in Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj, and Vaishali constituencies and will continue until 6 pm.

During this period, the voter turnout stood at over 11.95 per cent in Vaishali, 10.54 per cent in Siwan, 9.49 per cent in Gopalganj, 9.35 per cent in Paschim Champaran, 9.25 per cent in Sheohar, 9.06 per cent in Maharajganj, 8.95 per cent in Purvi Champaran, and 8.55 per cent in Valmiki Nagar until 9 am.

With more than 1.49 crore voters spread across these eight seats, the electoral destiny of 86 candidates will be determined at 14,872 polling stations. (PTI inputs)

“Police have destroyed my election agent form and threatened me that they will arrest me,” expressed Mudit Agarwal, the polling agent of the Congress candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, JP Agarwal.