In the fourth phase of polling, around 40% of voting took place in nine states and one Union Territory by 1 p.m. Polling is currently underway in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Voting will take place in Andhra Pradesh (25 seats), Bihar (5 seats), Jharkhand (4 seats), Madhya Pradesh (8 seats), Maharashtra (11 seats), Odisha (4 seats), Telangana (17 seats) and Uttar Pradesh (13 seats), West Bengal (8 seats) and Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat).
According to the Election Commission of India's Voter Turnout app, the approximate poll figure was 40.32%. Among these, the highest voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal at 51.87%, followed by Madhya Pradesh (48.52%), Jharkhand (43.80%), Uttar Pradesh (39.68%) and Bihar (34.44%) .
Additionally, all 175 Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly seats and 28 Odisha State Legislative Assembly seats will be voted on simultaneously on May 13. The Election Commission extended polling time in certain assembly segments of 17 assembly constituencies in Telangana (from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) to encourage higher voter turnout.
Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh as of 1 p.m. today:
In Uttar Pradesh, the highest voter turnout of 43.31% was recorded in Kheri Lok Sabha constituency. Close behind were Dhaurahra (43.25%), Kannauj (43.13%), Sitapur (42.65%), Bahraich (40.68%), Farrukhabad (40.39%), Hardoi (39.45%) , Misrikh (38.94%), Unnao (38.69%). , Akbarpur (38.20%), Etawah (37.68%), Shahjahanpur (36.34%) and Kanpur (33.84%).
Voter turnout in Madhya Pradesh as of 1 p.m. today:
In the central Hindi-speaking region, Dewas recorded the highest voter turnout at 52.11%, closely followed by Khargone at 51.48%. Ratlam recorded a voter turnout of 51.13%, followed by Mandsour (50.39%), Ujjain (49.71%), Dhar (49.37%) and Khandwa (48.15%).
Voter turnout in Maharashtra as of 1:00 p.m. today:
Voting activity remained subdued in the western state with the highest polling percentage recorded in Nandurbar at 37.33%. This was followed by Jalna (34.42%), Beed (33.65%), Aurangabad (32.37%), Raver (32.02%), Jalgaon (31.70%), Shirdi (30.49%), Ahmednagar (29.45%), Maval (27.14%), Shirur (26.62%) and Pune (26.48%).
A total of 1,717 candidates from 10 States/Union Territories will contest Phase 4 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The average number of candidates competing in a PC at this stage is 18.
Additionally, there are more than 12.49 lakh registered voters aged 85 years and above and 19.99 lakh Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters for Phase 4. They have been given the opportunity to vote from the comfort of their homes.
In this phase, non-aligned parties like Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress play a significant role. These parties have not officially aligned themselves with either the governing coalition or the opposition bloc. However, they have provided “substantive support” to the central government in Parliament on several occasions.
Prominent opposition leaders contesting today's polls include Mohua Moitra of the Trinamool Congress, who is seeking to return to Parliament after her suspension over the alleged money-for-questions affair. Also vying for seats are Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress, Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference.
The upcoming polling phase is scheduled for May 20th and the counting of votes will take place on June 4th after the last phase of voting ends on June 1st.
