Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey appeals to people of Sundergarh to cast their vote

Sundargarh (Odisha) [India], May 20 : Hockey India president and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate from Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat Dilip Tirkey asked the people from his constituency to come out and cast their vote in the fifth phase of the ongoing polls.

Speaking to ANI, Tirkey said the Lok Sabha 2024 is a festival of democracy, and people from Sundergarh should participate in it.

After seeing the locals' enthusiasm, he added that the voting percentage would increase in the Sundargarh constituency. Tirkey is contesting elections after having served a six-year term in the Rajya Sabha. Tirkey is looking to breach the BJP bastion of Sundargarh which has been won by former Union Minister Jual Oram from 1998-2004 and then again in 2014 and 2019. Tirkey will face Oram and Congress' Janardan Dehury in the elections.

"I appeal to the people of Sundergarh to come out and cast their vote. It is a festival of democracy and they should participate in it... Seeing the enthusiasm among the people, I can say that the voting percentage will increase here...," Tirkey said.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections marks an important part of the seven-phase electoral process, with extensive arrangements made to ensure a smooth and secure voting experience for all citizens. Elections in 6 Lok Sabha seats of Mumbai are underway for Phase 5.

The seats are Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central. The other constituencies of Maharashtra that are a part of the ongoing election in the fifth phase include Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi and Thane. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second largest after Uttar Pradesh.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases running from April 19 to June 1. The counting and results will be declared on June 4. The voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote. As per the ECI, over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting.

The fifth phase witnesses key contests in various constituencies. Leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan, JKNC chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya are looking for electoral success. Eight states/UTs going for polls in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Of the 49 Lok Sabha seats, 14 are from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Maharashtra, 7 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 3 from Jharkhand, 5 from Odisha, and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In a bid to create a peaceful atmosphere for the electors, a total of 2,000 flying squads, 2105 static surveillance teams, 881 video surveillance teams, and 502 video viewing teams are keeping surveillance round the clock across the 94,732 polling stations.

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