LIVE Lok Sabha Elections 2014: In its first ever elections, Telangana sees over 68% polling at 5pm

* 68% voting in Telangana's first poll by 5 pm

* Over 66% vote in Daman and Diu

* 59% polling in Telangana till 3pm

*  High turnout of 74% in Dadra and Nagar Haveli till 3 pm

* Over 50% vote in Bihar till 4 pm

* Over 20% polling till 3 pm in Srinagar

* 46% voting recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 3 pm

*  Only 17 % votes were polled in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency

* 47% voter turnout in Gujarat till 3 pm

* BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s estranged wife Jashodaben today cast her vote at Unjha in Gujarat’s Mehsana district. She reportedly paid a visit to a temple and prayed for Modi’s success before going to the polling booth

* Around 29% polling in Punjab till 11am

* Nearly 68% poll recorded till 2 pm in West Bengal

* Narendra Modi faces prosecution for flashing BJP symbol after casting vote

* Saina Nehwal casts vote in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Saina Nehwal shows her inked finger after casting her vote pic.twitter.com/A7sBDd4Q0X

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* Over 25% voting in Bihar till noon

* Nearly 25% voting recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 11 am

* Nearly 44% voters in nine Parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal cast their votes till 11 am in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls in the state

* Rajmata of Vadodara cast vote.  "Modi has more experience," she says.

* LK Advani casts his vote in Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar: Senior BJP leader LK Advani casts his vote #Elections2014 pic.twitter.com/0hi47UjZt5

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* About 19% polling on seven seats in Bihar till 10 am

*The first ever elections in Telangana sees 15.3% polling at 9 am

* 14% polling in Punjab till 10 AM; minor clashes in Moga

* West Bengal sees nearly 24% polling in the early hours

ALSO READ: Political parties eyeing minority community votes in West Bengal

* Nearly 12% polling in Uttar Pradesh in initial hours

* Farooq Abdullah casts his vote.

I am very confident of winning, people won't vote for PDP-Farooq Abdullah #Elections2014 pic.twitter.com/GP2YNH12kZ

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

BJP's Amit Shah casts his vote in Gandhinagar pic.twitter.com/MQ3TkKpg2y

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* "Want to appeal to voters to come out and vote in large numbers. There is a wave of change across," says Amit Shah

* Chiranjeevi attempts to jump voters queue at Polling station. Voter stops him and asks, "Do you need special treatment?" The minister later claimed that he had gone directly to the booth to check whether his name was on the list.

People in polling center applaud voter who told Chiranjeevi to go to the back of the line #Elections2014

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* Mayawati cast her vote

Why are Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi still silent on this comment by Ramdev?-Mayawati pic.twitter.com/RYZnDZdcOq

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

Hyderabad : Governor of Andhra Pradesh, ESL Narasimhan casts his vote pic.twitter.com/nxMzPmV1w7

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

Today is voting day in Gujarat and some other states,its like a festival of democracy-Modi pic.twitter.com/P3kIZVq5jk

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

I am 100% sure of my victory, UPA will again form the govt-Sriprakash Jaiswal after casting his vote in Kanpur pic.twitter.com/tP6KgLmtih

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

Modi arrives to cast his vote inside a polling booth in Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/hbTuM60bo9

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

Punjab : Congress candidate from Bathinda, Manpreet Badal casts his vote pic.twitter.com/1t4VlMBslv

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

I am confident that people will elect me from Lucknow-Rita Bahuguna Joshi,Congress pic.twitter.com/EkyjZGXc4m

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

We will win convincingly-Madhusudan Mistry,Congress candidate from Vadodara pic.twitter.com/7xGomeTwiw

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* Amid cheering crowd, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today walked out to vote for party patriarch LK Advani in Gandhinagar. Advani, a sitting MP from Gandhinagar, is contesting against Congress leader Kirtibhai Ishvarbhai Patel. After casting his vote, Modi addressed the crowd. "Today Gujarat is voting. Other states are voting too. Elections are a festival of democracy," he said. "Everyone must join this festival of democracy and strengthen it."

He also apologised to people of Gujarat. "This time I've barely given two days and about 18 hours. But still people took campaign in their hands," he said. 

"Don't forget Nirbhaya," he said. "Dont forget unemployed youth. Dont forget farmers committing suicide. Dont forget how our soldiers were beheaded. Congress has accepted defeat the way they're giving statements of aligning with Third Front etc."

Ahead of the elections, he had tweeted:

Will continue the campaign with rallies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh http://t.co/zUOLNQ2Rgp

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014

I request all those voting in 119 Assembly seats in Telangana region & in by-polls in Bihar, Gujarat, UP & WB to turnout in large numbers.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014

Urging all those voting in 89 Lok Sabha seats across India to vote in record numbers today! Hope my young friends show the way in doing so.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014

On my way to vote. I consider myself extremely blessed & fortunate to be a voter in Advani ji's Parliamentary Constituency.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2014

* Narendra Modi casts his vote

Modi arrives to cast his vote inside a polling booth in Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/hbTuM60bo9

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

* Narendra Modi's mother casts her vote

Gandhinagar : Narendra Modi's mother, Heeraben casts her vote pic.twitter.com/nZDcbuG2Qv

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 30, 2014

*  Balloting began in Punjab for all its 13 Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls in a single phase

* Lok Sabha polls for seven seats of Bihar and bypoll for one state assembly seat

* Dadra and Nagar Haveli vote

* Polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir began today amid tight security

* Simultaneous balloting in West Bengal for nine Lok Sabha seats and bypoll for one state assembly seat

*  Voting begins for all 26 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat

* ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections: Will AAP wean away all fence-sitter votes in Gujarat?

* ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections: BJP-Congress are neck and neck in central Gujarat 

* Polling for 14 Lok Sabha seats begins in Uttar Pradesh; Sonia Gandhi, Rajnath Singh in fray

* Voting in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2014 has begun.

 

Battleground states:
The whole of Gujarat and Punjab goes to polls in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections along with some seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that will decide the fate of top guns including Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Telangana, the new state-to-be, will also elect its first assembly along with representatives to Parliament when elections will be held in 119 Assembly constituencies and 17 Lok Sabha seats in that part of Andhra Pradesh. Tomorrow, a total of 13.83 crore voters have the right to vote in the polls in seven states and two union territories that will in all elect 89 MPs. Elections are already over in 349 constituencies in the first six phases. 

Yet again, Congress and BJP have big stakes in today's elections with 35 and 23 seats in their bag respectively which were won in the last elections. Stakes are also high for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab which has four seats and is locked in a bitter contest with Congress. TRS, which spearheaded the campaign for Telangana state, and Congress, whose government at the Centre cleared the new state proposal, are said to be involved in a hard-fought contest over credit for the new state. TRS has two Lok Sabha seats while TDP has two from the region.

JD (U) and Trinamool Congress have five seats each in the constituencies going to polls tomorrow, while CPI (M) has four. 

Modi is seeking to make his debut in Lok Sabha by contesting from Vadodara, which is among the 26 seats in Gujarat going to polls in a single phase tomorrow. He is pitted against Madhusudan Mistry of Congress. Modi is also contesting from Varanasi where he is pitted against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Congress' Ajay Rai. The Varanasi seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in the last phase on May 12. BJP veteran LK Advani is seeking re-election from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

ALSO READ: Narendra Modi, LK Advani, Madhusudan Mistry among 7 key candidates in Gujarat in 7th Lok Sabha elections 2014

ALSO READ: 7 key fights to look out for in Gujarat in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2014

Rae Bareli, the pocket borough of the Gandhis, Lucknow and Kanpur are among the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where election will be held today. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is seeking re-election from Rae Bareli, BJP President Rajnath Singh is contesting from Lucknow, once represented by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lok Sabha. He is a sitting MP from Ghaziabad.
Singh is pitted against former UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and AAP's Javed Jaffrey.

ALSO READ: 7 key constituencies of Uttar Pradesh in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls 

ALSO READ: Sonia Gandhi, Uma Bharati, Rajnath Singh among 10 key candidates from Uttar Pradesh in 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2014

Shifted from Varanasi, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi is contesting from Kanpur where Union minister and Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal is fighting to retain his turf. Along with Gujarat, Punjab will also witness polling in a single phase tomorrow with Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP leader Arun Jaitley pitted against former state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in the keenly fought electoral battle in Amritsar.

Jaitley is fighting his maiden Lok Sabha polls and a victory is likely to propel him to a position of power if the NDA forms the government, while Amarinder's win will revive his political fortunes and he will again emerge as the key Congress leader in the state which has 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.

ALSO READ: 10 key Lok Sabha candidates to look out for in Punjab

Punjab will also witness a contest between SAD's Harsimrat Kaur with her brother-in-law Manpreet Badal (Congress) in Bhatinda. While Congress leader Ambika Soni is contesting from Anandpur Sahib, Bollywood star and former Union minister Vinod Khanna is contesting from Gurdaspur. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur is seeking another term in Lok Sabha from Patiala.

ALSO READ: 7 key fights to look out for in Punjab in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha elections 2014

In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar is the sole constituency that will go for poll tomorrow. National Conference chief and Union minister Farooq Abdullah is seeking re-election from the seat which has seen a poor voter turnout in the past due to militancy. The Union Minister is pitted against 11 others, the most formidable among them being former state Finance Minister and PDP leader Tariq Hameed Karra.

In Bihar, seven constituencies are going to polls tomorrow in the fourth of the six-phase Lok Sabha election in the state. Prominent among the candidates are JD(U) president Sharad Yadav from Madhepura, being challenged by RJD's Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, and cricketer-turned BJP leader Kirti Azad from Darbhanga and his challenger former Union minister and RJD leader MAA Fatmi. 

In West Bengal, 87 contestants will fight it out in nine constituencies that are going to polls tomorrow in the third of the five-phase Lok Sabha election in the state. Among the candidates are BJP's Bappi Lahiri, journalist-turned politician Chandan Mitra and actor George Baker, who carry the hopes of the party leadership to score big for the first time in the state. 

ALSO READ: 9 constituencies of West Bengal go to polls in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha elections

While most poll analysts rule out BJP's outright win in any of the nine seats, they all agree that it may increase its vote share. Among Trinamool Congress candidates are sitting MPs Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee and Sultan Ahmed besides Prasun Banerjee, a former India soccer player. 

In the Telangana region of so far undivided Andhra Pradesh, Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Telugu Desam-Bharatiya Janata Party combine are the main contenders for power in what will be the 29th state of Indian Union. The new state will come into being on June 2, its 'appointed' date. The general elections will be a close contest between the TRS and the Congress while the TDP-BJP combine is also expected to make certain gains. 

ALSO READ: 7 key constituencies for 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls in the Telangana region

More than anyone else, the elections are highly critical for the TRS as it will be a "now-or-never" chance for it to realise its ultimate target of achieving power in the new state. 

Prominent among those seeking election to Lok Sabha are Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Lok Satta Party president N Jayaprakash Narayan and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The TRS head, whose ultimate dream is becoming the first Chief Minister of Telangana state, is also contesting the Assembly election from Gajwel.

ALSO READ: Why is Hyderabad an important constituency this Lok Sabha polls?

In the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, BJP is making all out efforts to retain the two seats.

According to the Election Commission, the national aggregate of turnout for the six phases held so far is 66% as against 57.53% for the same constituencies in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. So far, a total of 35 crore voters have cast their votes in the 349 constituencies which have gone to polls.

(With agency inputs)