Voting is being held in 49 parliamentary constituencies spread across six states and two Union territories in phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections today, May 20. The fifth phase includes high-profile seats such as Amethi, Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai North in Maharashtra.
Union Minister Smriti Irani is pitted against long-time Congress loyalist KL Sharma in Amethi while Rahul Gandhi is contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli. Both Amethi and Raebareli have been Gandhi family strongholds.
Follow Liver Updates on Phase 5 Polling Here
Union Minister Piyush Goyal is contesting against Congress party’s candidate Bhushan Patil in Mumbai north seat of Maharashtra in the fifth phase of polling.
BJP fighting 40 seats
Of the 49 seats voting today, the BJP is contesting on 40 constituencies. The saffron party’s allies are fighting on the remaining nine seats. This includes the six seats that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has fielded its candidates on.
The Congress, on the other hand, has fielded its candidates on 18 of the 49 seats. The grand old party has left 31 seats for its allies.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Raebareli, Amethi among 14 UP seats voting in Phase 5 polling today Check details here
Of these the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) is contesting 10 seats, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena eight seats , Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) two seats and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) four seats.
In 2019, BJP won 31 seats, Congress just 1
Among the Lok Sabha seats voting in phase 5 today, the BJP had won 32 in 2019 while its allies had won 7 constituencies. The saffron party bagged a vote share of more than 40 per cent in at least 30 seats.
In 2019, the Congress won just one seat – Raebareli – of the 49 seats. Its allies, including the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had won seven seats.
Overall, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 39 seats, while the INDIA bloc parties won eight seats of the 49 constituencies voting today. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the two remaining seats in 2019.
428 seats sealed
In 2014, the BJP had won six of the 49 seats while the Congress had won 14. In 2009, the BJP won 27 seats while the Congress won just two seats.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections: 6 Mumbai seats voting today — Check full list of candidates and who’s richest among them
With voting in 49 seats being held today, the election to more than three-fourths of 543 Lok Sabha seats (428 seats) will be over. The remaining two phases will be held on May 25 and June 1. Counting votes for all seven phases of Lok Sabha Elections will take place on June 4.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is seeking a record third term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has set a target of winning 400 seats this election. The ruling alliance is challenged by the opposition parties led by the Congress under the banner of the INDIA bloc.
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Published: 20 May 2024, 06:40 AM IST