Campaigning ends for LS polls in 58 seats in 6 states and 2 UTs
New Delhi: The curtain fell on campaigning for the second-last phase of the Lok Sabha elections, which will take place across 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories, including all seven seats in Delhi.
In addition to Delhi, the sixth round of the seven-phase elections will be conducted on Saturday in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 in Haryana, eight each in Bihar and West Bengal, six in Odisha, four in Jharkhand, and one in Jammu and Kashmir.
So far, voting has been concluded in 25 states and Union territories, covering 428 out of 543 constituencies. The final phase of polling across 57 seats is slated for June 1, with vote counting set for June 4.
Prominent candidates include Dharmendra Pradhan (BJP) from Sambalpur (Odisha), Manoj Tiwari (BJP) and Kanhaiya Kumar (Congress) from North East Delhi, Maneka Gandhi (BJP) from Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) from Anantnag Rajouri (Jammu & Kashmir), Abhijit Gangopadhyay (BJP) from Tamluk (West Bengal), and BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal, Haryana), Naveen Jindal (Kurukshetra) and Rao Inderjit Singh (Gurgaon).
As the campaign reached its climax, the Election Commission issued directives to the ruling BJP leaders to avoid speeches on religious and communal lines, and to the opposition Congress to refrain from making potentially divisive statements on the socioeconomic composition of the armed forces.
On the final day of campaigning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rallies in Punjab and Haryana. He criticised the INDIA bloc, stating that the “cow hasn’t given milk but the fight over ghee has started” as the alliance is “talking about having five PMs in five years”. He also assured that no one can snatch the reservation for Dalits and tribals as long as he is alive.
The previous day, he referred to the Calcutta High Court’s decision to strike down the OBC status granted to “77 classes” in West Bengal since 2010 to criticise the INDIA bloc, saying its “obsession with appeasement” has crossed every limit.
In Delhi, the BJP’s campaign saw Modi addressing two rallies, along with canvassing by Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani and Piyush Goyal, and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand) and Pramod Sawant (Goa).
The Congress’s campaign was led by its chief Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, and Sachin Pilot among others. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was released on interim bail till June 1, held roadshows in support of Congress’ candidates while Pilot campaigned for AAP’s South Delhi candidate Sahi Ram Pahalwan.
AAP’s campaign received a boost with the release of Kejriwal from Tihar. While Kejriwal was in jail, his wife Sunita Kejriwal held roadshows for party candidates and senior party leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai held various public meetings and outreach activities under the party’s ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’ campaign.
Following his release, Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann led roadshows in some constituencies while Sunita also joined her husband for poll meetings.
The alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal at Kejriwal’s official residence has also
become a poll issue with the BJP criticising the party for being “anti-women”. Kejriwal has said he expects a fair investigation into the matter and justice should be served.
At the peak of campaigning in Odisha, BJP’s Puri candidate Sambit Patra stirred controversy with his comment that “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi”. Patra later clarified that his remark was inadvertently made and expressed regret.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was quick to react, saying Patra’s “offensive” comment has severely hurt the sentiments of millions of Odias worldwide. The party also lodged a complaint with the EC on Wednesday against Patra for using a photo of Jagannath temple in an advertisement issued by him in the local media.While campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, Modi claimed the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are “more concerned about their vote bank than Kumbh mela”. BSP chief Mayawati termed both the Congress and the BJP anti-Dalit and anti-backward stating their intentions and thoughts are against reservation.
In his rallies, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that in the five rounds of polling till now, BJP has “crossed 310” and the Congress is “not even getting 40 seats”. Shah has also accused several leaders from the opposition parties of nepotism.
“Lalu Prasad Yadav wants to make his son the chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister, Sharad Pawar wants to make his daughter the chief minister, Stalin wants to make his son the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew the chief minister and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul Gandhi the prime minister,” he said at a rally in Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, adding someone who works for his family is not going to work for a constituency.
BJP leaders have also been asserting that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a part of India and the party will take it back.
