1. The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 13 across 96 seats in 10 states/UTs.
2. Notable focus on West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh due to key candidates.
3. Polling is critical as it encompasses crucial constituencies in pivotal states.
Kolkata, May 13: Voting for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections is set to take place on Monday, May 13, covering 96 seats across 10 states and Union Territories. Among these, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will be under scrutiny due to the presence of significant candidates.
Simultaneous voting will occur for all 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 legislative assembly seats in Odisha.
Currently, polling has concluded in three phases across 283 Lok Sabha constituencies in 20 states and Union Territories. Vote counting is scheduled for June 4.
Here are 10 key highlights of Phase 4 polling:
- The voting spans across 10 states and Union Territories: Andhra Pradesh (25), Bihar (5), Jharkhand (4), Madhya Pradesh (8), Maharashtra (11), Odisha (4), Telangana (17), Uttar Pradesh (13), West Bengal (8), and Jammu and Kashmir (1).
- A total of 1,717 candidates are contesting, with over 19 lakh polling officials deployed across 1.92 lakh polling stations. Approximately 17.70 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase, including 8.73 crore women voters.
- In Uttar Pradesh, notable contests include former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav from the Kannur seat and Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni from Lakhimpur Kheri.
- West Bengal witnesses Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury against former cricketer Yusuf Pathan of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Mahua Moitra of TMC against erstwhile royal Amrita Roy fielded by the BJP.
- Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha contests against BJP’s SS Ahluwalia in Asansol, while Dilip Ghosh faces TMC’s Kirti Azad in Bardhaman-Durgapur.
- In Bihar, Union Ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai) and Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur) are contenders.
- AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi seeks reelection from Hyderabad, with BJP’s Kompella Madhavi Latha as his main challenger.
- Andhra Pradesh Congress president YS Sharmila competes in the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.
- In Maharashtra, BJP’s Raosaheb Danve (Jalna) and Pankaja Munde (Beed) are prominent contestants.
- The Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir witnesses the first election post the abrogation of Article 370, with notable candidates like Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi of the National Conference and Waheed Para of the People’s Democratic Party.
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The BJP-led NDA holds MPs from over 40 of the 96 seats in this phase.
The India Meteorological Department forecasts normal to below normal temperatures for the polling areas, without any heatwave-like conditions.
