The fifth phase of polling for Lok Sabha polls on May 20 across 49 parliamentary constituencies spread over six states and two Union Territories (UTs) saw a voter turnout of 23.66 per cent till 11 am, the Election Commission (ECI) said on Monday.While Bihar recorded a 21.11 per cent voter turnout, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 21.37 per cent, Jharkhand 26.18 per cent, Ladakh 27.87 per cent, Maharashtra 15.93 per cent Odisha 21.07 per cent and West Bengal 32.70 per cent, the poll body said.
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 is witnessing 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.
The eight states/UTs polling in phase 5 are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Cities like Mumbai, Thane, and Lucknow are polling in this phase, which has in the past suffered from urban apathy in voting. 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.
A total of 216 international border check posts and 565 inter-state border check posts are keeping a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash, and freebies. Strict surveillance has been kept on sea and air routes, the ECI said.