The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Election Commission of India has updated the voter turnout figures for the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, now stating that 63.37 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. This phase involved 58 parliamentary seats across eight states and union territories.
Initially, the turnout was calculated at 61.20 percent following the close of polls on Saturday, but this figure was subsequently revised. The updated statistics show that 61.95 percent of male voters and 64.95 percent of female voters participated, along with 18.67 percent of third-gender voters.
The turnout varied significantly across regions, with West Bengal recording the highest at 82.71 percent for its eight seats, and Uttar Pradesh the lowest at 54.04 percent for its 14 seats. Notably, the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu & Kashmir saw a turnout of 55.40 percent, the highest in decades for the region.
Other notable figures include a 74.45 percent turnout in Odisha for six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly seats, and a 65.39 percent turnout in Jharkhand for four seats. Haryana, Delhi, and Bihar also showed diverse participation rates with 64.80 percent, 58.69 percent, and 57.18 percent respectively.
A total of 889 candidates contested in this phase. Some of the notable candidates included Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur in Odisha, former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangophadhyay from Tamluk in West Bengal, and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra in Haryana—all representing the BJP.
The Congress party fielded candidates such as Kumari Selja in Sirsa, Deepender Singh Hooda in Rohtak, and J.P. Agarwal in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Meanwhile, PDP President and former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti contested from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, and actor-politician Deepak Adhikari Dev represented the Trinamool Congress from Ghatal in West Bengal.
The elections also saw Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, make her electoral debut in New Delhi, facing off against Aam Aadmi Party’s Somnath Bharti. In Gurgaon, Congress’ Raj Babbar contested against Union Minister and incumbent MP Rao Inderjit Singh, while in Azamgarh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav challenged BJP MP Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirhua’.