India Lok Sabha Polls: 62.31% voter turnout recorded till 5pm in Phase 4, figure highest in Bengal

New Delhi: About 62.31 per cent voter turnout was recorded as of 5 pm across the 96 constituencies in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

West Bengal recorded 75.66 per cent voter turnout, which is the highest as of 5 pm on Monday, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 68.04 per cent and Madhya Pradesh at 68.01 per cent. The lowest was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir, 35.75 per cent.Voting percentages in other states participating in the fourth phase polling as of 3 pm are Bihar 54.14 per cent, Jharkhand 63.14 per cent, Maharashtra 52.49 per cent, Odisha 62.96 per cent, Telangana 61.16 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 56.35 per cent, as per the ECI.

The voting across the 96 parliamentary constituencies in the nine states and one Union Territory started at 7 am on Monday. The polling for 175 seats in the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly and 28 out of the 147 seats in the Odisha legislative assembly also started simultaneously with the general elections.

According to the ECI data, about 67.99 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Andhra assembly polls as of 5 pm. The first phase of the four-phase assembly polls in Odisha witnessed a voter turnout of 62.96 per cent.

Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats voting today, 25 are from Andhra Pradesh, 17 from Telangana, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from Maharashtra, eight each from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five from Bihar, four each from Jharkhand and Odisha, and one from Jammu and Kashmir.

As many as 1,717 candidates are in the fray across the 96 Lok Sabha seats voting today. Prominent figures contesting today’s poll battle included AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, JDU’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), TMC leaders Mahua Moitra, Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan, Union Minister Arjun Munda, BJP leaders Giriraj Singh, Madhavi Latha, and Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief YS Sharmila, among others.

The remaining three phases of voting will be held on May 20, May 25 and June 1. The results of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4.