Lok Sabha elections Phase 5: 49 seats go to polls on May 20; Check details

Another high-voltage battle on the cards as UP, Bihar set to go to polls on Monday

As the 2024 Lok Sabha election moves into the fifth phase, 14 constituencies, including Raebareli, Amethi and Lucknow, in the key state of Uttar Pradesh will go to polls on May 20. 

Overall, 49 seats across 6 states and 2 Union territories will see voting during the fifth phase, which has the fewest constituencies. The campaigning for the fifth phase of polls will end on May 18. 

The first four rounds were held on April 19, 26, May 7 and 13. Voting for the last two phases will be conducted on May 25 and June 1.

So far, voting has taken place in 379 constituencies spread across 23 states and Union territories. The counting of votes for all seven phases of the Lok Sabha election will take place on June 4. 

According to the data provided by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the fourth phase recorded an average voter turnout of 69.16 per cent.

The cumulative turnout in the first four phases has been recorded at 66.95 per cent, with 451 million out of the nearly 970 million people casting their ballot so far.

States to go to polls in phase 5

Bihar: Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Hajipur

Jharkhand: Chatra, Kodarma, Hazaribagh

Maharashtra: Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North – West, Mumbai North – East, Mumbai North – Central, Mumbai South – Central, Mumbai South

Odisha: Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal, Aska

Uttar Pradesh: Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Kaiserganj, Gonda

West Bengal: Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, Arambag

Jammu and Kashmir: Baramulla

Ladakh: Ladakh

Key candidates and constituencies to look for in phase 5

Raebareli and Amethi are strongholds of the Gandhi family. In the previous election, Sonia Gandhi, then the Congress chief, secured victory in Raebareli, while her son Rahul Gandhi was defeated in Amethi by Union minister Smriti Irani.

Raebareli: This time, Rahul is contesting from the Raebareli seat. The BJP has nominated state minister Dinesh Pratap Singh to run against him. Rahul is also running from Wayanad in Kerala. In the previous election, Sonia defeated Singh by more than 1.67 lakh votes.

Amethi: In Amethi, the Congress has fielded KL Sharma, a long-time loyalist of the Gandhi family, to challenge Irani. In 2019, Irani defeated Rahul by a margin of over 55,000 votes.

Lucknow: In Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is vying for a third consecutive term. He faces opposition from Ravidas Mehrotra of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Sarwar Malik of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The Lucknow seat, formerly held by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been a BJP stronghold since 1991.

Kaiserganj: Notably, the Kaiserganj seat, represented by the controversial MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, is going to polls on Monday. 

The BJP has nominated Karan Bhushan Singh, the sitting MP’s son, for this seat. He is competing against Bhagat Ram Mishra of the Samajwadi Party and Narendra Pandey of the Bahujan Samaj Party. 

Despite facing serious allegations of sexually harassing women wrestlers, Brij Bhushan Singh has actively campaigned for his son.

Jhansi: Former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya is contesting on a Congress ticket and is being challenged by the sitting MP, Anurag Sharma, of the BJP. The BSP has fielded Ravi Prakash Maurya, a local student leader.

Baramulla, J&K: Omar Abdullah, will be contesting on the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) ticket from Baramulla. He will be up against Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC). 

Mumbai North: Union minister Piyush Goyal’s fate will also be sealed in the fifth phase on May 20.  Goyal contests against Congress’ Bhushan Patil.

Total voter turnout in 2019 Lok Sabha election: State-wise list

• Bihar: 57.33 per cent
• Jharkhand: 66.8 per cent
• Maharashtra: 61.02 per cent
• Odisha: 73.29 per cent
• Uttar Pradesh: 59.21 per cent
• West Bengal: 81.76 per cent
• Jammu and Kashmir: 44.97 per cent