Lok Sabha Elections Phase 5: The Election Commission has said that a voter turnout of over 60 percent was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Unionrritories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
The EC took to X to share the voter turnout data for the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. According to the data at 11:30 PM on May 20, West Bengal recorded the highest polling percentage at 74.65 percent, while Maharashtra recorded the lowest at 54.29 percent. Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla recorded its highest-ever voting percentage at 59 percent, PTI reported, citing an EC official.
Phase 5 of General Election 2024 records Voter Turnout of 60.09 % at 1130 pm on 20th May
Details : pic.twitter.com/DC2LxDrbel
— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) May 20, 2024
West Bengal witnessed the highest turnout, despite scattered incidents of violence. In Maharashtra, there were complaints of slow voting and EVM glitches at some booths, as reported by news agency PTI.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, which was once militancy-infested, recorded its highest-ever voter turnout at 59 percent, J-K Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said, as reported by PTI. The Sopore assembly segment of the parliamentary constituency witnessed a healthy turnout of 44 percent after recording single-digit polling percentages in the past couple of decades.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the polling, Pole said, “The Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency witnessed a record voter turnout since parliamentary polls were first held here in 1967”. The previous highest voter turnout in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency was witnessed in 1984 at 58.90 percent. Former J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah is among the 22 candidates contesting the seat.
On Monday, the apex poll body said parliamentary constituencies in various urban cities like Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, and Lucknow continued the trend of urban apathy as noticed in the 2019 general elections, as reported by PTI.
Six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai witnessed voting between 47 percent and around 55 percent . Thane recorded a turnout of 49.81 percent, according to the EC’s voter turnout app, at midnight.
Among other states, Bihar recorded 54.85 percent turnout, Jharkhand 63.07 percent, Odisha 67.59 percent, Uttar Pradesh 57.79 percent, and Ladakh 69.62 percent. The approximate turnout in the fifth phase was 60.09 percent till 11 PM, according to the Election Commission data.
With polling in 49 Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday, a total of five phases of voting have concluded. Two more phases—on May 25 and June 1—are remaining now. The counting of votes is on June 4.
Incidents of violence marred the polls in seven parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal, where TMC and BJP workers clashed in various parts of Barrackpore, Bongaon, and Arambagh seats. Till 4.30 pm, the state CEO’s office received 1,913 complaints in connection, including those related to EVM malfunctioning and polling agents being stopped from entering booths, an election official said, as reported by PTI.
