- Summary
- • The fifth phase of voting in India’s seven-phase election has begun in 49 seats across six states and two union territories.
- • 10.28% voter turnout recorded till 9 am; West Bengal tops with 15.35%, Maharashtra lowest at 6.33%
- • The first four phases of the mammoth vote were held on April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13. The next two phases fall on May 25 and June 1, and the votes will be counted on June 4.
- • Around 9.47 lakh polling officials have been deployed at 94,732 polling stations today.
- • The elections primarily pit the National Democratic Alliance, led by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, spearheaded by the National Congress party.
- • Voters will elect representatives to fill 543 seats of the Lok Sabha. The party or coalition that secures a majority will form the next government.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Phase 5 In Pictures
![Voters Join in a photo session after they cast their vote in Ladakh.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Voters-Join-in-a-photo-session-after-they-cast-their-vote-in-Ladakh.jpg)
![Polling is underway in in J-K's Baramulla constituency](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polling-is-underway-in-in-J-Ks-Baramulla-constituency.jpg)
![Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh casts vote in Lucknow (Deepak Gupta/HT)](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Union-Defence-Minister-Rajnath-Singh-casts-vote-in-Lucknow.jpg)
![Voters outside of a polling station in Bihar](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Voters-outside-of-a-polling-station-in-Bihar.jpg)
![A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling booth during the fifth phase of India's general election, in Mumbra, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/A-woman-leaves-after-casting-her-vote-at-a-polling-booth-during-the-fifth-phase.jpg)
![Rinchen, 23, a first time voter, showing her inked finger outside the unique polling station Ladakh's remote Warshi village, home to just one family and five eligible voters, in the Ladakh region, India, May 20, 2024, REUTERS/Sharafat Ali](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rinchen-23-a-first-time-voter-showing-her-inked-finger-outside-the-unique-polling-station.jpg)
![A man uses a newspaper as others use umbrellas to protect themselves from the heat as they wait to vote outside a polling station during the fifth phase of India’s general election in Howrah district of the eastern state of West Bengal, India, May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/A-man-uses-a-newspaper-as.jpg)
![Centenarian freedom fighter Dr GG Parikh, who has been voting since India's first general elections in 1951-52, exercised his franchise in the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Centenarian-freedom-fighter-Dr-GG-Parikh-who-has-been-voting-since-Indias-first-general-elections-in-1951-52.jpg)
Polling booth for just one family in Ladakh village
May 20, 2024 04:35PM (GMT+6)
![Polling booth for just one family in Ladakh village](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polling-booth-for-just-one-family-in-Ladakh-village.jpg)
Polling booth for just one family in Ladakh village
In the remote Himalayan village of Washi in Ladakh, the election commission set up a unique polling booth for just one family.
“A polling station was set up under a tent in the remote village of Washi in Nubra, around 170 kms from Leh, as part of the Election Commission’s efforts to ensure 100 per cent participation of people in the electoral process,” said Ladakh chief electoral officer (CEO) Yetindra M Maralkar in a report in The Indian Express.
The family consists of six members and five of them – two males and three females – are eligible to vote.
The union territory of Ladakh comprises two districts – Kargil and Buddhist-dominated Leh. The total eligible voters are 1,82,571, including 91,703 males and 90,868 females. The EC has set up 577 polling stations across the UT, including 33 in urban and 544 in rural areas.
Ladakh, the largest constituency in the country in terms of area, witnessed 71.05% turnout in the 2019 general election. In 2024, it has witnessed over 60% voter turnout till 3pm local time.
This is the first major electoral battle in the region after it was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir and granted Union Territory status in 2019.
Voter turnout of 47.53% recorded till 3 PM
May 20, 2024 04:00PM (GMT+6)
- Bihar: 45.33%45.33
- J&K: 44.90%44.9
- Jharkhand: 53.90%53.9
- Ladakh: 61.26%61.26
- Maharashtra: 38.77%38.77
- Odisha: 48.95%48.95
- UP: 47.55%47.55
- West Bengal: 62.7262.72
In Depth Live! - Documenting Al Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe
Breaking News: International Criminal Court seeks arrest warrants for Israel's PM Netanyahu and top Hamas leaders for war crimes
Who Are the Key Candidates in Phase 5?
India's Phase 5 Lok Sabha elections feature key contests with Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani and several Union Ministers and party chiefs in the race.
![Rahul Gandhi, who also contested the 18th Lok Sabha polls from the Kerala's Wayanad seat, is facing Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP in Raebareli.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rahul-Gandhi-Raebareli.jpg)
Rahul Gandhi (Raebareli)
Rahul Gandhi, who also contested the 18th Lok Sabha polls from the Kerala's Wayanad seat, is facing Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP in Raebareli.
![The contest for Amethi seat will be intense battle between Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma and Union Minister Smriti Irin Amethi.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Smriti-Irani-vs-Kishori-Lal-Sharma-Amethi.jpg)
Smriti Irani vs Kishori Lal Sharma (Amethi)
The contest for Amethi seat will be intense battle between Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma and Union Minister Smriti Irin Amethi.
![Rajnath Singh (Lucknow)](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rajnath-Singh-Lucknow.jpg)
Rajnath Singh (Lucknow)
Hoping for a hatrick, Defence Minister and BJP candidate Rajnath Singh will face Samajwadi Party candidate Ravidas Mehrotra in this seat.
![Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North) Contesting for the first time in Lok Sabha polls, Union Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to give a tough fight to Congress' Bhushan Patil from the Mumbai North seat.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Piyush-Goyal-Mumbai-North.jpg)
Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North)
Contesting for the first time in Lok Sabha polls, Union Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to give a tough fight to Congress' Bhushan Patil from the Mumbai North seat.
![National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is pitted against Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC) and Mir Mohammad Fayaz of Peoples Democratic Party.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Omar-Abdullah-Baramulla-National-Conference-NC-leader.jpg)
Omar Abdullah (Baramulla)
National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is pitted against Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC) and Mir Mohammad Fayaz of Peoples Democratic Party.
![In a bid to retain the sitting seat, the BJP has fielded 26/11 special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, replacing two-time MP Poonam Mahajan against Congress' Varsha Gaikwad from Maharashtra's Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ujjwal-Nikam-vs-Varsha-Gaikwad-Mumbai-North-Central.jpg)
Ujjwal Nikam vs Varsha Gaikwad (Mumbai North Central)
In a bid to retain the sitting seat, the BJP has fielded 26/11 special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, replacing two-time MP Poonam Mahajan against Congress' Varsha Gaikwad from Maharashtra's Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat.
![Rohini Acharya, the daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting against BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy.](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rohini-Acharya-Saran.jpg)
Rohini Acharya (Saran)
Rohini Acharya, the daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting against BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
23.6 % voter turnout reported till 11 am
May 20, 2024 12:30PM (GMT+6)
The 49 seats voting in phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections registered 23.6 per cent voter turnout till 11 am, according to Election Commission of India. West Bengal recorded highest with 33 per cent followed by Ladakh with 27.8 per cent, UP with 27.7 per cent, and Jharkhand with 26 per cent turnout, the poll panel said. The Baramulla seat in J&K recorded 21.3 per cent turnout till 11 am. Maharashtra recorded about 16 per cent turnout till 11 am.
![](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/India-Election-Phase-5-Voter-turnout.jpeg)
23.6 % voter turnout reported till 11 am
How much of India has voted so far?
May 20, 2024 12:00 PM (GMT+6)
The first four phases of the election have already decided the fate of 379 of 543 members of the Lok Sabha.
So far, voting has concluded for all the seats in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka; the southern union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Puducherry; and all the northeastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Elections have also concluded in Uttarakhand in the north, Chhattisgarh in central India, and Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan states in the west.
Phase 6 of the vote will be held on May 25 and the election then heads towards the seventh and final phase on June 1.
Lok Sabha Elections 5th Phase: PM Modi Urges Voters To Come Out In large Numbers
May 20, 2024 11:50AM (GMT+6)
As 49 seats across 8 states and UTs go to the polls today in the 5th phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, urging all those whose constituencies are polling today to vote in record numbers. I specially call upon women voters and young voters to exercise their franchise.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2024
Video of youth casting multiple votes goes viral
May 20, 2024 11:37AM (GMT+6)
Re-election has been recommended today to the Election Commission at a polling booth in village Aliganj of Uttar Pradesh after a video of a youth casting multiple votes went viral on social media platforms. The seat had gone to polls on 13 May.
Following the incident, the youth was arrested and identified as Rajan Singh, a resident of the village of Khiriya Pamaran in UP’s Etah district.
In the two-minute-long video, the voter was seen voting for a BJP candidate, Mukesh Rajput, on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at least 8 times.
However, the authenticity of the video isn’t independently verified.
But it was shared by several opposition leaders, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, on X.
अगर चुनाव आयोग को लगे कि ये गलत हुआ है तो वो कुछ कार्रवाई ज़रूर करे, नहीं तो…
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 19, 2024
भाजपा की बूथ कमेटी, दरअसल लूट कमेटी है। #नहीं_चाहिए_भाजपा pic.twitter.com/8gwJ4wHAdw
Bollywood stars, industrialists step out to vote in Mumbai
May 20, 2024 10:35AM (GMT+6)
![Bollywood stars, industrialists step out to vote in Mumbai](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Bollywood-stars-industrialists-step-out-to-vote-in-Mumbai.jpg)
Bollywood stars, industrialists step out to vote in Mumbai
Among the early voters in Mumbai, the financial and glamour capital of India, Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar, Rajkumar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor, and Farhan Akhtar cast their vote, urging everyone to come out and vote.
Other bigwigs who have cast their vote in Mumbai include industrialist Anil Ambani, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the BJP nominee from Mumbai North seat.
RBI governor called it a “moment of pride” while actor Rajkumar Rao, who is also the election commission’s official icon, said, “It is a big responsibility towards our country… I’m very happy that the Election Commission chose me to be the national icon and I appeal to all to please come out and cast your vote… We all want our nation to grow, to shine. It’s already shining. I’m sure it’s going to shine even more…”
What is happening in Odisha?
May 20, 2024 10:00AM (GMT+6)
All eyes are on the eastern state of Odisha where chief minister Naveen Patnaik is contesting from two seats, Hinjili and Kantabanji (both under different parliamentary constituencies).
Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is locked in a fierce contest with the BJP for five Lok Sabha seats in the State. As many as 40 candidates are contesting from these 5 seats today, with the prominent ones being Patnaik, former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey, former Union Minister and hotelier Dilip Ray, and BJP’s four-time Lok Sabha Sangeeta Singh Deo.
There has been pre-poll violence in Ganjam, Odisha CM’s home district, that has left one BJP supporter dead and BJP’s candidate Pradeep Panigrahy assaulted. The election commission has deployed 20 companies of central armed police force to the district signalling a fierce electoral battle. Odisha police and paramilitary forces are also keeping a close watch on other seats, which have witnessed left-wing extremism in the past few years.
Temple town Ayodhya votes today
May 20, 2024 09:21AM (GMT+6)
Ayodhya, which falls under the Faizabad parliamentary constituency of northern state Uttar Pradesh, is voting today to pic its next leader. The historic city’s decision holds immense significance in political symbolism, as it is the centre of Hindutva politics in India.
After the inauguration of the Ram Temple here earlier this year, Hindu-Muslim votes play a major factor even though reports from the ground say both communities are more worried about development. Caste equations are also huge.
BJP’s Lallu Singh is eyeing his third term from Ayodhya this year, contesting against Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad. Prasad belongs to the marginalised Dalit community, and has made the contest interesting as Dalits form the largest voting bloc in the city. The Dalit community makes up 26% of Faizabad’s population and plays a crucial role in determining the political fate of the constituency.
However, many voters resonate with the focus being on the Ram temple issue in the temple town of Ayodhya and this may likely result in more votes for the BJP.
The 2024 election in Ayodhya is a closely watched one. BJP’s win here is crucial to cement its Hindutva politics. Else, it risks a huge loss of face if an opposition candidate wins the city where the BJP fought for years to establish the Ram temple.
Polling begins across 49 constituencies in Phase 5
May 20, 2024 08:50AM (GMT+6)
As India enters the last leg of the Lok Sabha election, 695 candidates are vying for 49 seats in the Phase 5 of the 7-phase polls. Voting is being held today in 49 constituencies across 6 states and 2 Union Territories.
Voting is being held from 7am to 6pm local time. This phase features the smallest number of constituencies. Their names are listed below.
- Bihar: Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Hajipur
- Jharkhand: Chatra, Kodarma, Hazaribagh
- Maharashtra: Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North – West, Mumbai North – East, Mumbai North – Central, Mumbai South – Central, Mumbai South
- Odisha: Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal, Aska
- Uttar Pradesh: Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Kaiserganj, Gonda
- West Bengal: Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, Arambag
- Jammu and Kashmir: Baramulla
- Ladakh: Ladakh
![INDIA ELECTION Live Phase 5 Constituency](https://pressxpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/iNDIA-eLECTION-Live-Phase-5-Constituency-1.jpg)
Voters from 49 constituencies across 6 states and 2 UTs will decide the fates of many key leaders today.
Welcome to our live coverage as Indians begins voting for the phase 5 of the Lok Sabha polls
May 20, 2024 08:30AM (GMT+6)
Hello and thank you for joining us as polling opens for the fifth phase of India’s multiphase election.
Voting started at 7am (01:30 GMT) across the country and will end at 6pm (12:30 GMT).
Stay with the Press Xpress Live as we bring you all the latest developments, analysis and much more throughout the day. Tulika Bhatnagar, our International Correspondent from India, and Hasan Al Manzur from Bangladesh will bring you exclusive elections coverage. Stay Tuned!
You Can Also Check Phase 1:
INDIA ELECTION 2024: WORLD’S LARGEST ELECTION KICKS OFF
You Can Also Check Phase 2:
STAR CANDIDATES OF INDIA’S PHASE 2 POLLING
You Can Also Check Phase 3:
NARENDRA MODI VOTES IN THIRD PHASE OF LOK SABHA POLLS
You Can Also Check Phase 4:
MODI EYES BIG WINS AS POLLING CONTINUES FOR FOURTH PHASE
Phases of Indian Election
- 1
- 2