Elections 2024 Live: Phase 6 Sees 59% Voter Turnout, J&K Sees Healthy Turnout

Voting for the sixth of the seven-phase Lok Sabha Elections 2024 began at 7:00 am today across 58 constituencies and in six states and two union territories, including all the seven seats in Delhi.

More than 11.13 crore voters will choose cast their ballots across 1.14 lakh polling booths to choose from a total of 889 candidates. In addition to the Voter ID card, the Election Commission has made available 12 documents for identity verifications at polling booths.

Key Candidates In Phase 6

Manohar Lal Khattar (BJP): Karnal, Haryana

Bansuri Swaraj (BJP): New Delhi

Manoj Tiwari (BJP): North East Delhi

Kanhaiya Kumar (Congress): North East Delhi

Maneka Gandhi (BJP): Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Dinesh Lal Yadav (BJP): Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh

Dharmendra Yadav (SP): Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh

Sambit Patra (BJP): Puri, Odisha

Naveen Jindal (BJP): Kurukshetra, Haryana

Raj Babbar (Congress): Gurugram, Haryana

Rao Inderjit Singh (BJP): Gurugram, Haryana

Abhijit Gangopadhyay (BJP): Tamluk, West Bengal

Constituencies going for polls today

State/UTConstituencies

Delhi: Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North West Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi

Uttar Pradesh: Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domriyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr, Bhadohi

Haryana: Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Hisar, Karnal, Sonipat, Rohtak, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad

West Bengal: Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur

Jharkhand: Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Jamshedpur

Bihar: Valmiki Nagar, Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Vaishali, Gopalganj (SC), Siwan, Maharajganj

Odisha: Bhubaneswar, Puri, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar (SC), Cuttack, Sambalpur

Jammu & Kashmir: Anantnag-Rajouri

• All India: 59.75%

• Bihar: 54.68%

• Delhi: 56%

• Haryana: 59.28%

• Jharkhand: 63.27%

• J&K: 53.22%

• Odisha: 60.97%

• UP: 54.03%

• West Bengal: 78.20%

After record voter turnouts in Srinagar and Baramulla in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary Constituency too has shattered voter turnout records, according to the Election Commission.

Three constiteuncies in the valley namely Srinagar (38.49%), Baramulla (59.1%) and Anantnag-Rajouri (51.35% as of 5 pm) have recorded voter turnouts which is highest in many decades.

• All India: 57.7%

• Bihar: 52.2 %

• Delhi: 53.7%

• Haryana: 55.9%

• Jharkhand: 61.4%

• J&K: 51.3%

• Odisha: 59.6%

• UP: 52.0%

• West Bengal: 78.0%

• Vidhan Sabha (Odisha): 59.6%

• All India: 49.2%

• Bihar: 45.2%

• Delhi: 44.6%

• Haryana: 46.3%

• Jharkhand: 54.3%

• J&K: 44.4%

• Odisha: 48.4%

• UP: 44.0%

• West Bengal: 70.2%

• Vidhan Sabha (Odisha): 48.4%

Senior BJP leader and its Jhargram candidate Pranat Tudu on Saturday claimed his convoy was attacked by Trinamool Congress party workers in Garbeta area of West Midnapore district, following which security personnel escorting him were injured and had to be hospitalised.

The local TMC leadership denied the allegations and accused Tudu of trying to “vitiate the peaceful polling process”.

Source: PTI

Union Minister Smriti Irani has urged people to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party to liberate Odisha's future from the "captivity" of Biju Janata Dal.

"There's talk that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik lacks the freedom to express himself and meet others independently," Irani said during an election rally in Kujang of Jagatsinghpur constituency on Saturday. "The entire BJD leadership is in captivity. Free Odisha's future from this confinement by pressing the lotus button on June 1."

She declared that if voted to power, the BJP would appoint an Odia chief minister. Irani accused BJD leaders of involvement in a Rs 32,000-crore chit fund scam, a Rs 60,000-crore mining scam, and criticised the state's ruling party for awarding them poll tickets. "How long will Odisha endure all this?" she questioned.

Irani alleged that the BJD government had fostered land, coal, sand, and mining mafias in the state, with ministers, MLAs, supporters, and remote controllers from Tamil Nadu working incessantly to plunder the state's resources.

In contrast, she highlighted Narendra Modi's commitment to building a developed India by 2047.

"To witness a deluge of development, vote for the lotus on June 1 and establish a double-engine government in the state," she urged.

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have alleged that SP's Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha constituency candidate Lalji Verma has been put under house arrest at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Polling is underway in Ambedkar Nagar in the sixth phase of elections.

The district administration could not be reached for a comment on the allegations of the two parties.

SP leader Arvind Kumar Singh wrote to the chief electoral officer alleging the Ambedkar Nagar administration is influencing the elections by keeping the SP candidate under house arrest.

The EC should take cognisance so that fair voting is ensured, he said.

In a post on X, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the police raided Verma's house. "But the police neither wanted to find anything nor found anything. This is an evil act to tarnish the honest image of Lalji Verma. Extremely condemnable! This is the frustration of the losing BJP," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP government are "so frightened by the fear of defeat that they have openly resorted to dictatorship".

"Information is being received that INDIA alliance candidate from Ambedkar Nagar Lalji Verma has been placed under house arrest," the party said on X.

"By misusing the government machinery, the candidates of the INDIA alliance are not being allowed to come out of the house and the voters are being threatened. Sir, if you have woken up, please take action," the party said, drawing the attention of the Election Commission of India.

In a separate post, the Samajwadi Party also appealed to the Election Commission of India to take cognisance of the matter.

More than 35% of the 18.36 lakh electorate in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency of Jammu and Kashmir exercised their franchise on Saturday till 1.00 pm, officials said.

They said Rajouri assembly segment recorded the highest turnout of 52.74% while Noweshera recorded a poll percentage of 47.31%. Anantnag, Anantnag-West and Kulgam assembly segments were the only three areas where the voter turnout so far was below 25%.

"The voter turnout in Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency at 1:00 pm was 35.22%,' an official of the election department said.

They said that barring an isolated incident in Bijbehara, polling was going on smoothly across the Lok Sabha constituency that has 18 assembly segments and is spread over five districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, Poonch and Rajouri.

Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti is contesting the polls from Anantnag-Rajouri seat and is up against National Conference leader Mian Altaf Ahmad. Apni Party's Zafar Iqbal Manhas is also among the 20 candidates in the fray.

Brinda Karat, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said she had to wait for almost an hour to cast her vote as the battery of the EVM control unit at her polling booth "drained out".

The Election Commission of India, however, said voting was halted only for 15 minutes and is now proceeding smoothly again.

Karat had gone to cast her vote at a polling booth set up at St Columba's School in the New Delhi constituency. She said she had to wait for around 50 minutes before she could cast her ballot, expressing concerns over arrangements made by the ECI.

"We came to vote, they are saying that the machine's battery is down. If the machine's battery is down early in the morning, imagine what is the condition of the Election Commission," Karat said.

"I have written a complaint here, how is it that in the morning at 9:00 am the battery of the machine is down? What are the arrangements that they have made? People are waiting here in the heat for so long," she said.

Karat later told PTI she had to wait for around 50 minutes. The machine had been down for around 20 minutes before she arrived.

Responding to Karat's allegation, the District Election Officer, New Delhi district, said in a post on X that the battery of the control unit at the polling station where she had gone to cast her vote had drained out around 10:00 am and it was replaced within 15 minutes.

"The battery of the control unit of polling station No 27 at St Columba's School, Ashok Place, drained at around 10:00 am. At that time, approx 10 voters were in queue. Battery was replaced in 15 minutes and voting resumed," according to the post.

"Presently, voting is going smoothly. Queue in shaded area," it added.

Scattered incidents of violence were reported from some areas in the eight Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal, where polling is underway for the sixth phase on Saturday.

The Election Commission of India has received 954 complaints until 11:00 am from different political parties, alleging EVM malfunctions and agents being stopped from entering booths, they said.

The poll panel, however, claimed that voting has been peaceful so far.

According to the Election Commission of India, West Bengal has so far recorded the highest voter turnout among the six states and two union territories that went to the polls in the sixth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.

Voter Turnout At 1:00 PM

• All India: 39.1%

• Bihar: 36.5%

• Delhi: 34.4%

• Haryana: 36.5%

• Jharkhand: 42.5%

• J&K: 35.2%

• Odisha: 35.7%

• Uttar Pradesh: 37.2%

• West Bengal: 54.8%

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that voting during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will help improve the lives of citizens and protect the Constitution of India.

Gandhi, who exercised his franchise during the sixth phase of 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on Saturday, appealed to people to come out in large numbers and vote for their rights and the future of their family.

"All of you also come out of your homes in large numbers and vote for your rights and the future of your family," Gandhi posted on X.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on bail in a liquor scam case, voted in the national capital on Saturday, along with his family.

"I voted with my father, wife and children. My mother is very ill. She could not go. I voted against dictatorship, unemployment and inflation. You too must go an vote."

Before voting, he urged voters to come out and support his Aam Aadmi Party, which he said stands against dictatorial thinking.

"I apeal to all my voting brothers and sisters to definitely come out and vote. Ask your family, relatives and friends to also vote," he said. "In this festival of democracy, each of your votes will be against dictatorial thinking and strengthen the Indian democracy and constitution."

"Go to the polling booth and show with your vote that there is democracy in India and democracy will remain."

In Delhi, the AAP and the Congress party have joined hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had in 2019 won on all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital. While the Congress is contesting on three seats, AAP has its candidates on four. ANI

West Bengal has so far recorded the highest voter turnout among the six states and two union territories that went to the polls in the sixth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.

Voter Turnout As Of 11:00 AM:

• All India: 25.8%

• Bihar: 23.7%

• Delhi: 21.7%

• Haryana: 22.1%

• Jharkhand: 27.8%

• J&K: 23.1%

• Odisha: 21.3%

• Uttar Pradesh: 27.1%

• West Bengal: 36.9%

West Bengal recorded a high voter turnout of 16.64% as of 9:00 am on Saturday, according to data put out by the Election Commission of India.

Uttar Pradesh clocked a voter turnout of 12.33%.

Voter Turnout, As Of 9:00 AM:

• Bihar: 9.66%

• Haryana: 8.31%

• Jammu & Kashmir: 8.89%

• Jharkhand: 11.74%

• Delhi: 8.94%

• Odisha: 7.43%

• Uttar Pradesh: 12.33%

• West Bengal: 16.64%

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra cast her vote at a polling station in New Delhi on Saturday.

"We are keeping aside our grievances and casting votes for constitution and democracy...Mujhe iss baat par garv hai..." Gandhi-Vadra said when asked about Rahul Gandhi voting for the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal voting for Congress in the elections. ANI

Sambit Patra, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader for the Puri Lok Sabha seat, voiced on Saturday serious concerns regarding malfunctioning electronic voting machines in Puri. He urged the Election Commission of India to take immediate action.

"For two hours, people were waiting here to cast their votes and are now going back. The EVM is not working. The Election Commission should definitely take action on this and give an extension of time," he said at a polling booth in Puri, Odisha, where he had gone to cast his vote.

"I'm still waiting outside my booth, senior citizens are going back. People think that this is strategically being done. This is not the right thing in this festival of democracy. The EC wants people to vote. It must take action on this. ANI

Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal voted during the sixth phase of the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.

"It is a very big day for the democracy. I want to appeal to everyone, especially women, to come out and cast their votes," she said. "In India, women's participation in politics is very important." ANI

Amid the polling for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti held a protest alleging that the police have detained her party’s polling agents and workers without any reason.

Mufti is in the electoral fray for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat against National Conference candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad and Zafar Iqbal Manhas of the Apni Party.

“PDP workers are being locked up in police stations without any reason. DG, LG, all officials from top to bottom are involved in this," Mufti said.

"They have locked up PDP polling agents in police stations. You had said there will be free and fair elections but you are doing all this. Complaints are being received from places where efforts are being made to tamper the machines (EVMs).”

On Friday, Mufti wrote to Election Commission of India with a complaint that her workers had been wrongfully detained on the eve of the elections

“Many of our PDP polling agents & workers are being detained just before voting. When the families went to the police stations they are being told that its being done at the behest of SSP Anantnag & DIG South Kashmir. We’ve written to @ECISVEEP hoping for their timely intervention,” she claimed.

Earlier, the Election Commission had revised the date of polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency from May 7 to May 25 after it received representations to reschedule the date of polling due to various issues about “logistics, communication and natural barriers of connectivity.” ANI

Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Aam Aadmi Party's Atishi and outgoing East Delhi's Member of Parliament Gautam Gambhir were among the early voters in Delhi on Saturday.

President of India Droupadi Murmu also cast her vote in the New Delhi constituency, officials said.

"We want that people come out in large numbers to vote because it a time to take a big decision for the country," Jaishankar, the first voter at Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya, APJ Abdul Kalam Lane, in the New Delhi constituency, told PTI Videos.

Hardeep Singh Puri cast his vote at Mount Carmel School, Anand Niketan, in the New Delhi constituency.

"It's a very good feeling to be able to reach the polling booth half an hour before the gates open and to participate in the world's largest carnival and celebration of democracy," he said.

Atishi cast her vote at Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya, Kalkaji B Block, in the South Delhi constituency.

Gambhir appealed to people to exercise their franchise after casting his vote at the Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalya.

The AAP's South Delhi candidate Sahi Ram Pahalwan, the BJP's Chandni Chowk nominee Praveen Khandelwal and its New Delhi hopeful Bansuri Swaraj were among the early voters.

'I want to appeal to the residents of Delhi to cast their votes as it is a big festival of the country,' Pahalwan said.

Voting is underway peacefully with no reports of any untoward incidents.

Voting for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, which will seal the fate of several high-profile candidates, including former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, began on Saturday in 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh.

The bypoll for the Gainsari assembly seat in Balrampur is also being held.

Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said 162 candidates, 146 men and 16 women, are in the fray from the parliamentary seats while seven hopefuls are contesting in Gainsari.

Voting began at 7:00 am and will end at 6:00 pm.

The Lok Sabha constituencies that are going to the polls in this phase are Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Domariyaganj, Basti, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi.

In Sultanpur, BJP candidate Gandhi is seeking her ninth term as an MP. The former union minister is up against the Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad and the Bahujan Samaj Party's Uday Raj Verma.

From Allahabad, former West Bengal governor Kesari Nath Tripathi's son Neeraj Tripathi of the BJP will take on the Congress' Ujjwal Raman Singh.

In Azamgarh, incumbent MP Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' is hoping to retain the seat for the BJP against the SP's Dharmendra Yadav. Yadav lost to Nirahua in the 2022 bypoll. The seat was won by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the 2019 election.

Jaunpur will witness former Maharashtra minister Kripashankar Singh of the BJP take on SP candidate Babu Singh Khushwaha and the incumbent MP Shyam Singh Yadav of the BSP.

In Bhadohi, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi of the Trinamool Congress is in the fray, while the BJP's Ritesh Pandey is taking on former minister Lalji Verma of the Samajwadi Party in Ambedkar Nagar.

In Sant Kabir Nagar, the electoral battle pits the BJP's sitting MP Praveen Nishad against the Samajwadi Party's Laxmikant alias Pappu Nishad.

At 80, Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.

So far, voting has been held on 53 seats in the first five phases. The remaining 13 seats will vote in the seventh phase on June 1. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Voting began for eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar amid tight security on Saturday morning.

The polling began at 7:00 am in Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali. It would continue till 6:00 pm, they said. More than 1.49 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 86 candidates in this phase in the state.

The constituencies where elections are being held are largely rural with only 1,281 of the total 14,872 polling stations located in urban areas.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) is contesting four seats, including Sheohar, which was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party five years ago.

Voting for four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand commenced on Saturday morning amid heavy security.

Polling began at 7:00 am in the constituencies of Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur, and would continue till 5:00 pm.

Ninety-three candidates are in the fray in this phase, which is third for the state and sixth nationwide. A total of 27 candidates are contesting the elections from Ranchi, 25 each from Dhanbad and Jamshedpur, and 16 from Giridih. About 82.16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these four constituencies, with Dhanbad having the highest number of voters at 22.85 lakh, and Giridih the lowest at 18.64 lakh.

In the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat, Congress's Yashaswini Sahay, daughter of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, is contesting against the BJP MP Sanjay Seth.

Dhanbad is witnessing a fight between BJP's Baghmara MLA Dulu Mahato and Congress's Anupama Singh, the wife of the party's Bermo legislator Kumar Jaimangal.

In Jamshedpur, BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato has been pitted against JMM's Baharagora MLA Samir Mohanty.

In Giridih, AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Chaudhary is up against JMM's Tundi MLA Mathura Mahato. A student leader, Jairam Mahato, has added a twist to the contest by challenging candidates of both the INDIA bloc and the NDA.

Polling for the seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi began Saturday morning in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections amid tight security arrangements.

The weather department has issued a 'yellow alert' for the day and predicted that the mercury is likely to reach a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius. The Delhi election department is making adequate preparations for voters because of the heat.

People were seen queuing outside polling stations even before the commencement of voting at 7:00 am.

A total of 1.52 crore voters—82 lakh males, 69 lakh females and 1,228 of the third gender category—are eligible to cast their votes at more than 13,000 polling booths across the seven constituencies.

There are more than 2.52 lakh first-time voters in the city this time.

The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Kuldeep Kumar from the East Delhi seat, Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi, Somnath Bharti from New Delhi and Sahi Ram Pahalwan from South Delhi.

The Congress has nominated JP Agarwal from the Chandni Chowk seat, Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi and Udit Raj from the North West Delhi constituency.

The BJP candidates are Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, the only sitting MP from Delhi fielded by the party again, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi, Harsh Deep Malhotra from East Delhi, Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk and Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi.

The BJP won all seven seats in Delhi in the 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with huge margins and is aiming for a clean sweep for the third time in a row.

The opposition INDIA bloc partners AAP and Congress are contesting the elections in Delhi under a four-three seat-sharing formula.

This is the first Lok Sabha election in Delhi in which AAP and the Congress have fielded joint candidates against the BJP, posing a stiff challenge to the ruling party at the Centre.

Voting began for the eight Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the sixth phase on Saturday morning amid tight security.

The polling began at 7:00 am in Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur constituencies. It would continue till 6:00 pm.

A total of 1.45 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase across around 15,600 polling stations.

Of the 79 candidates in the fray, Bankura and Jhargram have the highest number of 13 contestants each, followed by Purulia (12), and nine each in Medinipur and Tamluk. Seven candidates each are contesting in the Bishnupur and Ghatal seats.

A total of 919 companies of central forces have been deployed in this phase along with over 29,000 state police personnel.

Polling began on Saturday morning for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha amid tight security arrangements.

Voting started at 7:00 am in the Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri Lok Sabha seats along with 42 assembly segments that make up these Lok Sabha constituencies.

Polling will continue till 6:00 pm but in certain remote and critical booths voting will conclude earlier, the official said.

More than 94.48 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 10,581 booths in the third round of simultaneous elections in the state.

A total of 35,000 security personnel and 70,000 polling personnel have been engaged in this round of twin polls in the state.

Sixty-four candidates are vying for the six Lok Sabha seats and 383 contestants for the 42 assembly segments.

The prominent leaders whose fate is to be decided in this phase include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJD organisational secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Four Odisha ministers, including Prafulla Mallick, RP Swain, Ashok Panda and Basanti Hembram, are also in the fray, while Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Jaynarayan Mishra, and sitting MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab and Aparajita Sarangi, are also contesting the polls.

Polling has started in Jammu & Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat where 20 candidates, including former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, are in the fray.

At 7:00 am, people were seen lining up outside polling stations to exercise their franchise in some areas of the constituency. Voting is scheduled to end at 6:00 pm.

The Anantnag-Rajouri constituency is spread over 18 assembly segments in the five districts of Kulgam, Anantnag, Poonch, Shopian, and Rajouri. More than 500 centenarians are among the 18.36 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise in this constituency.

The number of eligible voters in the constituency is 18,36,576 -- 9,33,647 males, 9,02,902 females and 27 from the third-gender category. Around 18,000 differently abled people are eligible to cast their ballots.

The Election Commission of India has set up 2,338 polling stations across Anantnag-Rajouri. Four election staff, including the presiding officer, will be stationed at every polling booth. In all, more than 9,000 polling staff, including reserves, will be deployed.

There are 19 border polling stations in Rajouri and Poonch.

Seventeen polling booths ('pink' polling stations) are being managed by the women, 15 by differently-abled people and eight by youngsters. Also, there are 15 'green' polling stations.

The Anantnag-Rajouri constituency has 20 candidates in the fray, including People's Democratic Party President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is hoping to return to the parliament following her defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Mufti is facing a tough challenge from prominent Gujjar leader and former minister Mian Altaf Ahmad, who is contesting as the National Conference candidate.

The Apni Party's Zafar Iqbal Manhas will be hoping to turn the tables on both the PDP and the National Conference after he managed to get the Bharatiya Janata Party's support in the Pir Panjal region.

The Democratic Progressive Azad Party of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has fielded Mohammad Saleem Parray from the seat.

The polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat was earlier scheduled for May 7 but was deferred by the EC due to inclement weather in the region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people on Saturday to vote in large numbers in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024, saying every vote counts.

Democracy thrives when people are engaged and active in the electoral process, he said in a post on 'X', formerly Twitter.

"I urge all those who are voting in the sixth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to vote in large numbers. Every vote counts, make yours count too! Democracy thrives when its people are engaged and active in the electoral process," the prime minister said. "I especially urge the women voters and youth voters to vote in large numbers."

Voting for the sixth and penultimate phase of the general elections began on Saturday morning in 58 constituencies in six states and two union territories, including all the seven seats in Delhi and the Jangal Mahal region in Bengal. PTI

Polling began on Saturday morning for the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana and the by-election to the Karnal assembly seat.

More than two crore voters are eligible to cast votes to decide the fate of 223 candidates, including former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, two union ministers and Congress stalwart Kumari Selja, in the fray for the 10 Lok Sabha seats.

Voting began at 7:00 am amid tight security arrangements and will continue till 6:00 pm, officials said.

Khattar and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini were among the first to cast their votes at their respective booths.

For the Lok Sabha seats, there are 207 male and 16 female candidates.

In 2019, the ruling BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Polling also began for the by-election to the Karnal Assembly seat, where Saini is contesting.

For the Lok Sabha seats, Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar and Congress heavyweights Kumari Selja and Deepender Singh Hooda are among the contestants.

There are nine candidates in the fray for the Karnal Assembly seat. The bypoll was necessitated after Khattar's resignation as MLA.

There are 2,00,76,768 registered voters in the state, which include 94,23,956 women and 467 transgender voters. PTI