Polling in Lok Sabha election 2019 concludes.
Lok Sabha polls 2019, 7th phase: With the conclusion of voting in the seventh and final phase, polling in Lok Sabha election 2019 comes to an end on Sunday (May 19).
Overall voter turnout till 6 pm in the final phase of Lok Sabha election stands at 60.21%. Bihar recorded 49.92%, Himachal Pradesh- 66.17%, Madhya Pradesh- 69.38%, Punjab- 58.81%, Uttar Pradesh- 73.06%, West Bengal- 70.50%, Jharkhand- 70.50% and Chandigarh- 63.57% voting.
The voting in the 7th phase held in 59 seats including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Modi is seeking re-election, bringing the curtain down on the seven-phased mammoth electoral exercise which began on April 11.
In the last phase of polling, 13 seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, all four constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and one seat in the Union Territory of Chandigarh will witness the polling.
According to Election Commission of India (ECI), over 10.02 crore voters will decide the fate of 918 candidates. The counting of votes will take place on May 23. The most keenly watched electoral battle will take place in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, where Modi is facing Ajay Rai of Congress party and SP's Shalini Yadav.
Other prominent political figures whose fate will be sealed in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are Shatrughan Sinha (Congress) and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) from Patna Sahib constituency, Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan (BJP), Madhusudhan Tripathi (Congress) and Rambhusal Nishad of SP from Gorakhpur seat, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri of BJP and Congress' Gurjeet Singh Aujla from Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency and actor Sunny Deol, who is pitted against Congress heavyweight Sunil Jakhar from Gurdaspur seat.
The other leaders whose fortunes will also be decided in the final phase of polling are former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (Ferozepur), his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Bhatinda) and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's wife Perneet Kaur in (Patiala), all in Punjab, three-time MP Anurag Thakur in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren (Dumka) and former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who faces sitting MP Kirron Kher in Chandigarh.
The Election Commission (EC) had deployed 710 companies of security forces to ensure the last phase of Lok Sabha polling in West Bengal on Sunday goes off peacefully.
"710 companies of security personnel provided 100 percent coverage during the seventh phase of elections in West Bengal. This included 512 quick response teams (QRTs) led by assistant commandants," said the EC in a statement.
Out of these 710 companies, a total of 147 companies were deployed in constituencies which fall under the police jurisdiction of Kolkata police jurisdiction. Two QRTs will be deployed in each police station, the EC said.
The seats which go to polls on Sunday are Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).
(With inputs from agencies)
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 "Lok Sabha election 2019 (Representational image)")
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