Voting for Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections began in 49 seats across six states and two Union Territories on Monday under tight security. In this phase, polling will be held in Jharkhand (3 seats), Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla and Ladakh, Odisha (5 seats), Bihar (5 seats), Maharashtra (13 seats), West Bengal (seven seats) and Uttar Pradesh (14 seats).
Elections to the 35 assembly seats in Odisha will also be held in the current phase. Prominent leaders in Odisha whose electoral fate will be decided include Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is contesting from two assembly segments (Hinjili in Ganjam district and Kantabanji in Bolangir district) and six Odisha ministers.
Jharkhand
Elections will be held for Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribag seats. The contest is mostly between the BJP and the Congress. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all three seats. This time, the campaign was mostly focused on issues like corruption, reservation, the Constitution and poll promises and saw an intense exchange of words between BJP and Congress.
J&K's Baramulla, Ladakh
Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency will see a tight fight with over 22 candidates, including former chief minister Omar Abdullah, in the fray. The constituency is spread over 18 assembly segments in the three districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora, and also includes two segments of Budgam that were included in the recommendations of the delimitation commission two years ago. This is also the first major political battle after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
In Ladakh, Tsering Namgyal of the Congress will take on Tashi Gyalson of the BJP. Independent candidate Haji Hanifa Jan is also in the fray.
Odisha
Voting is being held in the Aska, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Bargarh, and Sundargarh parliamentary constituencies. The polling time has been adjusted in certain remote and Maoist-affected areas.
West Bengal
Polling commenced in Bangaon (SC), Barrackpore, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, and Arambag (SC) Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday. A total of 88 candidates are contesting in the fifth phase, with the highest number of 15 candidates in Bongaon, where Union Minister Shantanu Thakur is contesting against TMC's Biswajit Das.
Bihar
The state will witness Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saran and Hajipur constituencies heading to the polling booth. Notable contestants include NDA ally Chirag Paswan in Hajipur and Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya, who takes on BJP MP and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran.
Uttar Pradesh
The state is witnessing a high-voltage fight with all eyes on the VIP constituencies of Amethi and Raebareli. Five union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, are in the fray this phase in Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra
As many as 13 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, including six in Mumbai, will vote on the fifth and last phase of general elections in the state. The main contest is between the ruling Mahayuti comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP). Prominent candidates include Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Bharati Pawar and Kapil Patil. BJP candidate lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad are also in the fray.