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26-05-2024
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: The sixth phase of voting in India’s seven-phase election is under way in 58 seats, including all the seven seats in the national capital, Delhi.
India’s weather bureau has issued a heatwave “red alert” for Delhi and surrounding states.
The first five phases of the mammoth vote were held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. The last day of the election is June 1 and the votes will be counted on June 4.
The election primarily pits the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by two-time Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), spearheaded by the main opposition Indian National Congress party.
There are about 969 million registered voters to elect 543 members of Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, in the world’s largest democratic exercise over six weeks.
India’s staggered general election is heading towards its penultimate phase, with voters from eight states and federally-governed union territories poised to decide the fate of 889 candidates on May 25.
Among some prominent candidates, Kanhaiya Kumar, a former student leader and fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is challenging sitting MP Manoj Tiwari, regional Bhojpuri language cinema actor and singer, in the North East Delhi constituency, while Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan is seeking to enter the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Indian Parliament, from Sambalpur in the eastern state of Odisha.
The sixth phase will see all seven seats in the Indian capital region, a stronghold of the local governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), go to polls. The first five phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 – saw voter turnouts of 66.1, 66.7, 61, 67.3 and 60.5 percent, respectively.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the main opposition Congress party, has promised to address the economic distress and lack of employment generation as it aims to challenge the electoral dominance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Registered voters in the following six states and two union territories will cast their ballots for 58 seats:
Haryana: All 10 of the northern state’s constituencies
Jharkhand: Four of the eastern state’s 14 constituencies
Odisha: Six of the eastern state’s 21 constituencies
Uttar Pradesh: 14 of the northern state’s 80 constituencies
Bihar: Eight of the eastern state’s 40 constituencies
West Bengal: Eight of the eastern state’s 42 constituencies
Delhi: All seven National Capital Territory (NCT) constituencies
Jammu and Kashmir: Anantnag-Rajouri, one of the union territory’s five constituencies where polling was deferred from Phase 3 to Phase 6 due to weather conditions.
The battle for Delhi has gotten ugly with the region’s popular Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal unleashing a sharp attack on Modi after getting out of jail on bail in a corruption case. He has accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to frame him. A number of opposition leaders have either been jailed or are facing corruption cases. Kejriwal’s AAP has joined forces with the Congress to wrest the seven seats from the BJP.
