Northeast Desk, 25th May: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu took to the microblogging site X to encourage voters to participate in large numbers in the sixth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Khandu emphasized the importance of strengthening democracy through active voter participation, making a special appeal to women and young voters to exercise their franchise.
Polling for this crucial phase has commenced across six states and two Union Territories, involving over 110 million voters who will decide the fate of 889 candidates competing for 58 seats. High-profile political figures such as BJP’s Maneka Gandhi and Manoj Tiwari, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti, and Congress’s Kanhaiya Kumar are among the candidates.
The states and Union Territories involved in this phase include Haryana (10 seats), Bihar (8), Jharkhand (4), Odisha (6), Uttar Pradesh (14), West Bengal (8), Delhi (7), and Jammu and Kashmir (1). Additionally, polling for 42 Assembly constituencies in the Odisha State Legislative Assembly is also underway.
In Delhi, all seven Lok Sabha seats are being contested, with notable candidates including BJP’s Manoj Tiwari and Bansuri Swaraj, Congress’s Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj, and Aam Aadmi Party’s Somnath Bharti.
Haryana’s 10 seats feature significant contenders such as former Chief Minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal, BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh from Gurugram, and Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra.
West Bengal’s tribal belt Jangal Mahal region is a focal point, with voting taking place in five districts across eight seats. In 2019, the BJP won five of these seats while the TMC secured three. This year, Soumendu Adhikari, brother of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, is contesting from Kanthi. In Tamluk, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay is competing against TMC’s Debangshu Bhattacharya, known for his “Khela Hobe” anthem.
Polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, originally scheduled for May 7, is also occurring today after being postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
In the 2019 elections, the Congress did not win any of the 58 seats contested in this phase. The BJP secured 40 seats, with its NDA allies winning five. The BJP-led NDA garnered 51.36% of the vote share, while the INDIA bloc parties managed 28.66%.
Chief Minister Khandu’s call to action underscores the significance of voter turnout in shaping the future of the nation, as this phase of elections is pivotal for numerous key candidates and constituencies.