Himachal: BJP chief Nadda votes in Bilaspur, appeals to people to vote for "capable, reliant India"

Bilaspur: As polling began for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, BJP President JP Nadda cast his vote and appealed to the voters to vote in large numbers for a capable and self-reliant India.
Nadda cast his vote at a polling booth in Bilaspur. His wife Mallika Nadda accompanied him.
"I was the first voter here (in his booth). I appeal to all voters to vote in large numbers for a capable and self-reliant India. I urge voters to vote and contribute towards making India a capable, self-reliant and developed India...I consider this a festival of democracy," the BJP President said after casting his vote.
The seventh phase marks a grand finish to the world's largest polling marathon that began on the 19th of last month and has already covered six phases and 486 Lok Sabha seats.
Voting started in the last 57 parliamentary constituencies at 7 am today 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.
Polling is also underway in six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. The outcome will have a bearing on the Congress government in the state. All six seats going to the polls were held by Congress and MLAs from these seats cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls.
The seven States in which polling is scheduled include Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly aonstituencies of the Odisha State Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously.
A total of 904 candidates are in the fray for the final phase of polling. The prominent candidates in the fray in this phase include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nishikant Dubey, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti.
Actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut from the BJP is fighting against Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh in Mandi. Union Minister Anurag Thakur is in the fray from Hamirpur, actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan is contesting from Gorakhpur and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool Congress candidate Abhishek Banerjee is contesting from Diamond Harbour.
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 seeing simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and assembly in the last four phases.