New Delhi, 25 May

A voter turnout of 39.13 per cent was recorded till 1pm on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout in the first six hours of polling at 54.80 per cent while Odisha recorded the lowest at 35.69 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).

Jharkhand recorded a voter turnout of 42.54 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 37.23 per cent, Bihar 36.48 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 35.22 per cent, Haryana 36.48 per cent and Delhi 34.37 per cent, the EC data showed.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir, staged a sit-in outside Bijbehara police station on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in Anantnag district against alleged detention of her party workers and polling agents. She also claimed that outgoing calls on her mobile number have been suspended.

Police, however, said those detained are overground workers (OGWs) and the action was taken to ensure smooth conduct of elections. Mehbooba's daughter and PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged polling was being deliberately slowed down at a booth in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, a charge denied by the administration.

In the national capital, President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Atishi, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and outgoing East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir were among those who cast their votes.

Besides Delhi, polling is underway in 14 constituencies 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. Simultaneously, polling is being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and the Karnal assembly bypoll in Haryana. Voting began at 7am and people were seen queuing up at polling stations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged voters to exercise their right to franchise in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections in large numbers.

In Haryana, BJP's Karnal Lok Sabha seat candidate Manohar Lal Khattar and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is contesting the Karnal assembly bypoll, were among the first to cast their votes at their respective booths.

Saini, accompanied by his family members, cast his vote in his native Mirjapur Majra village in Ambala district's Naraingarh. Khattar exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Karnal's Prem Nagar.

In West Bengal, voting is being held in the tribal belt Jangal Mahal region, spanning five districts. A hotspot for identity politics, the region sends eight representatives to Lok Sabha from Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur seats. Out of the eight seats, the BJP won five and TMC bagged three in the 2019 polls. "Voting has been peaceful so far. There are no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere," a poll official told PTI.

In Uttar Pradesh, polling is underway for Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi seats. Around 82.16 lakh voters, including 40.09 lakh females, are eligible to exercise their franchise in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur constituencies of Jharkhand.

After casting his vote, Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan said in a post on X, "Today, I exercised my right to vote at Shri Krishna Institute of Public Administration, Ranchi. I urge all voters to exercise their right to vote. Ensure your participation in this great festival of democracy."

In Bihar, 86 candidates are in the fray in the eight seats of Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali. In a video message on X, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary appealed to people to vote for a developed India.

Polling is also being held in Odisha's six parliamentary constituencies of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri and Sambalpur along with 42 assembly seats under these Lok Sabha segments. Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer NB Dhal said voting has been going on smoothly so far in the 10,581 polling stations, barring some reports of EVM glitches.

Over 11.13 crore voters -- 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5,120 third gender -- are eligible to exercise their franchise in the sixth phase. The EC has deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations. With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, the poll panel has directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.