58.34 pc voting in seventh phase of LS polls till 5 pm, West Bengal leads with 69.89 pc

New Delhi: The seventh and the final phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections on June 1 across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh saw a voter turnout of 58.34 per cent till 5 pm, the Election Commission (ECI) said on Saturday.

As per the ECI, West Bengal is leading the voter turnout charts at 69.89 per cent till 5 pm.

Other states where polling is underway in the seventh phase are Bihar- 48.86 per cent, Chandigarh- 62.80 per cent, Odisha-- 62.46 per cent, Punjab- 55.20 per cent, Uttar Pradesh-54 per cent and Himachal Pradesh 66.56 per cent.

The polling of the last phase started on Saturday at 7 am in the 57 parliamentary constituencies spread across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. According to the Election Commission of India, over 10.06 crore electors including approximately 5.24 crore male, 4.82 crore female and 3574 third gender electors are expected to exercise their franchise.

All 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab are voting on Saturday in the last phase.

Six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh have also gone to polls today. The outcome will have a bearing on the Congress government in the state. All six seats going to the polls were held by Congress MLAs from these seats cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly Constituencies of the Odisha State Legislative Assembly is also underway. 62.46 per cent voter turnout has been recorded till 3 pm here.

After the conclusion of voting, the outcome of exit polls will be aired on various TV channels.

The Election Commission has issued a ban on exit polls from 7 am on April 19 to 6:30 pm on June 1, till the conclusion of polling. The high-voltage campaigning for the final phase of Lok Sabha polls ended on Thursday.

During the long campaign for seven-phased Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi held more than 200 campaign events, which included rallies and roadshows, in 75 days. He also gave several interviews. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held more than 100 rallies and public interaction programs like Nyay Sammelans and Nyay Manch' in Lok Sabha Polls.

Polling for the earlier six phases of Lok Sabha elections was held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, and May 25. Assembly polls have also been held in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. Odisha is also seeing simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and assembly in the last four phases.