HT Digital,
New Delhi, May 25: Voting commenced for the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha general elections, covering 58 constituencies across eight states and union territories, at 7 am on Saturday. With over 11.13 crore eligible voters, the fate of 889 candidates hangs in the balance. The electoral battleground spans 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand, and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir, alongside the national capital.
The electorate comprises 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female, and 5,120 third-gender voters, poised to exercise their democratic right in the sixth phase. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed approximately 11.4 lakh polling officials across 1.14 lakh polling stations to oversee the electoral process.
Among the candidates contesting in this phase, nearly 39 per cent are millionaires, with an average asset value of Rs 6.21 crore, as highlighted by the poll rights body ADR. Notable contenders vying for victory in the sixth phase include Dharmendra Pradhan, Rao Inderjit Singh, and Krishan Pal Gurjar, representing the BJP, along with Maneka Gandhi, Sambit Patra, Manohar Lal Khattar, and Manoj Tiwari. The list also features PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Deepender Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, and Kanhaiya Kumar of the Congress party, whose political fortunes are at stake in this crucial phase of elections.
