The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday saw a voter turnout of 60.48% by 11 pm, nearing the 61.82% recorded for the same constituencies in 2019. This phase, involving 49 seats across eight states and Union Territories, had the fewest seats in the seven-phase election that began on April 19. It marked the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra and Ladakh.
In Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, the voter turnout was 59%, the highest since 1984. The constituency witnessed a fierce three-way contest between National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, People’s Conference President Sajad Gani Lone, and Awami Ittehad Party’s jailed leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid. Similarly, Ladakh recorded a historic turnout of 68.47% by 8 pm, its first major election since becoming a Union Territory in 2019. Of the 49 seats contested in this phase, the BJP had secured 32 in the 2019 elections.
Key battlegrounds in this phase included 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, and 13 in Maharashtra. Attention was particularly focused on Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli and Amethi, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and family loyalist K L Sharma were candidates. Rahul Gandhi was contesting from Rae Bareli following Sonia Gandhi’s move to the Rajya Sabha, while Sharma faced incumbent BJP MP Smriti Irani in Amethi. In Maharashtra, a significant battle unfolded between two Shiv Sena factions across 10 seats. Additionally, voting took place in five seats in Bihar, three in Jharkhand, and five in Odisha, with West Bengal registering a high turnout of 73.14%. Notable candidates in this phase included Piyush Goyal, Bharati Pawar, Rajnath Singh, and Chirag Paswan.
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