Polling begins on moderate note in nine States

The polling for the fifth and final phase Lok Sabha elections in the 86 constituencies spread across seven States and two Union Territories began on a moderate note in the early hours of Wednesday at 7 am amid tight security.

This phase will seal the electoral fate of rest of the 1,432 candidates, including 93 women, who are in the fray, in the EVMs by 10 crore 78 lakh eligible voters listed by the Election Commission.

Voting is in the process in seven States, namely Himachal Pradesh (4 seats), Jammu & Kashmir (2), Punjab (9), Uttar Pradesh (14), West Bengal (11), Uttrakhand (5) and for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, including two Union Territories for lone seat each in Chandigarh and Puducherry.

Tamil Nadu, where polling is taking place for all the 39 seats in one go, is the most politically significant state in this phase for both DMK-Congress, combine which swept the 2004 elections by 39-0, and AIADMK-led oppositions which will try their best to reverse the 2004 outcome.

Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of parliamentary seats (80), and Jammu & Kashmir (6) are the only two states where elections are being conducted in all the five phases.

Among the prominent contenders in this round are Congress’s P Chidambaram and Mohd. Azharuddin, BJP's Maneka Gandhi, Varun Gandhi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Vinod Khanna, DMK's M K Azhagiri, Dayanidhi Maran, and T R Baalu, MDMK's Vaiko, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and SP's Jayaprada, including Mani Shankar Aiyar, cricket-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, separatist leader Sajjad Gani Lone.

In the first four phases, polling has been completed to 457 of the 543-member Lower House of the Parliament. Counting of votes will take place on May 16 and the results will be declared on the same day.