Voting for the Phase-5 Lok Sabha Elections began on Monday. Several prominent personalities have come out to cast their votes. Kailash Kher, a renowned singer also reached the polling booth to exercise his right to vote.
The voting started at 7 am on Monday and will continue till 6 pm. Those in line by the closing by the closing time will still be allowed to vote.
After casting his vote, Kher spoke to ANI, “…I want to say that India is changing, and you (people) are responsible for this. I want you to keep working in the national interest.”
According to the Election Commission of India, more than 8.95 crore voters, comprising 4.69 crore men, 4.26 crore women, and 5409 third-gender individuals, will determine the outcome for 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting. This phase features significant contests across multiple constituencies.
Prominent leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP members Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are seeking electoral success. In the fifth phase, voters in eight states and Union Territories—Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal—will cast their ballots. Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats contested, Uttar Pradesh accounts for 14, Maharashtra for 13, West Bengal for 7, Bihar for 5, Jharkhand for 3, Odisha for 5, and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for 1 each.
To ensure a peaceful environment for voters, 2,000 flying squads, 2,105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are monitoring the clock at 94,732 polling stations.