Voting underway for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in 12 states
Total of 1,769 candidates are in the fray in phase five
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-04-17 06:07 GMT
New Delhi: Voting began for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in 12 states for 121 seatson Thursday. Prominent political heavyweights, whose fates are going to be sealed are Ananth Kumar and Maneka Gandhi (BJP), former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S), Union ministers Veerappa Moily and Srikant Jena, and Nandan Nilekani (Congress), Supriya Sule (NCP) and Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter, Misa Bharti (RJD). A total of 1,769 candidates are in the fray in phase 5 of the nine phase general election.
As elections for 111 parliamentary seats are already over, after Thursday’s voting polling in this election will cross the half way mark. Around 16.61 crore electorate will exercise their right to franchise. Of the total seats, Congress has 36 seats while its main challenger, the BJP, has 40 seats. Polling will take place in 28 seats in Karnataka, followed by Rajasthan (20), Maharashtra (19), Uttar Pradesh and Orissa (11 each), Madhya Pradesh (10), Bihar (seven), Jharkhand (six), West Bengal (four), Chhattisgarh (three), Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur (one each).
Karnataka, which has witnessed an intense campaign, will see Union minister Veerappa Moily and Mr Nandan Nilekani (Congress), former PM H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S) and Ananth Kumar (BJP) in the fray. Out of 28 seats in Karnataka, the BJP has 18 sitting MPs, the Congress eight and JD(S) one.