LS polls: Billionaire candidate Jindal's assets, Mumbai votes in phase 5
Lok Sabha elections updates: Billionaire industrialist Naveen Jindal is contesting the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket from Haryana's Kurukshetra seat
 "LS polls: Billionaire candidate Jindal's assets, Mumbai votes in phase 5")
Lok Sabha elections updates: On Monday, May 20, 49 constituencies across eight states and Union territories will go to the polls in the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
India's financial capital, Mumbai, is among the regions where polling will take place in all six constituencies in the next phase. These seats are Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, and Mumbai South.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 updates for May 17:
Besides the Mumbai region and seven other seats in Maharashtra, other key constituencies going to the polls in the fifth phase include Kaiserganj, Rae Bareli, and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Hajipur in Bihar, and Ladakh.
Rahul Gandhi's Rae Bareli battle on Monday
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the Rae Bareli seat in the fifth phase, hoping to further his family's legacy. The seat, earlier represented by senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, has been won by the Congress since independence except for three times in 1977, 1996, and 1998. Rahul is also conesting the polls from Kerala's Wayanad.
Chirag Paswan's bid to reclaim father's legacy
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) faction leader Chirag Paswan will contest Bihar's Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency. The seat, represented eight times by Chirag's late father Ram Vilas, is the bone of contention between him and his uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras. The friction between the two leaders resulted in the LJP party splitting into two factions in 2021. Notably, Paras, who was a union minister in the Narendra Modi government, resigned last month after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party gave five seats to Chirag's faction as part of the seat-sharing deal in Bihar.
Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency has remained in the spotlight this election due to its association with incumbent MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Singh, who is facing charges of sexual harassment by five wrestlers, was denied a ticket by the BJP this time. Instead, the party offered the ticket to his son, Karan Bhushan Singh.
Naveen Jindal declares Rs 1,200 crore assets
Billionaire industrialist Naveen Jindal, a BJP candidate from Haryana's Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat, declared assets worth Rs 1,230 crore while filing his nomination papers earlier this week. Haryana will go to the polls in a single phase on May 25, and the nomination deadline ended on May 13.
The 54-year-old business tycoon owns 19.8 kilograms of gold jewellery, bullion, and other valuables. According to his election affidavit, Jindal's movable assets amount to Rs 886.73 crore, while the immovable assets are worth Rs 11.05 crore. The remaining assets belong to his wife, Shalu Jindal, and are under the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). Notably, 33 per cent of the phase five candidates are 'crorepatis' (those with assets exceeding Rs 1 crore), the Association for Democratic Reforms has said.
PM Modi's Mumbai rally today
Prime Minister Modi will hold an election rally in Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Friday. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will share the stage with Modi at the event.
Mamata Banerjee explains 'outside support' remark
A day after announcing "outside support" to the Opposition's INDIA bloc, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she is very much part of the anti-BJP alliance at the national level on Thursday. "At an all-India level, some people have misunderstood my statement yesterday. I am very much part of the INDIA alliance. The INDIA alliance was my brainchild. We are together at the national level and will continue to be together. The INDIA bloc was brought together by me. We will form a government with that alliance and we are a part of it," she said.
Voter turnout update
The Election Commission on Thursday said that nearly 66.95 per cent of voter turnout has been recorded till phase four of the polls. A total of 45.10 crore of the nearly 97 crore electors have voted so far.