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LS polls 2019 voting Updates: Polling across 542 constituencies end; Net turnout around 67.37%

Fifty nine parliamentary constituencies across seven states and one Union Territory will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 today.

By Anuj Cariappa

| Updated: Sunday, May 19, 2019, 19:20 [IST]

New Delhi, May 19: With the voting ending in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections, the mammoth 40-day general elections concluded on Sunday.

In the last phase, fifty nine parliamentary constituencies across seven states and one Union Territory went to polls. During the final phase, stay incidents of violence was reported from Bihar and Punjab while West Bengal witnessed massive violence yet again.

Elections in West Bengal were held across all the seven phases and violence was witnessed in most of the phases. Every phase has had its own share of violence that was unleashed on and around the polling day. Murders, clashes, stonepelting, lathicharge, firing, arson, West Bengal witnessed all during Lok Sabha elections 2019.

[All about the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections] [All about the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections]

The seventh and the last phase of polls was crucial for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition. Some of the high-profile constituencies that went to polls in the seventh phase includes Patna Sahib (Bihar), Chandigarh, Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab), Gorakhpur and Ghazipur (both UP). The Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to be re-elected, is one of the key seats that will vote in Phase 7.

The results of Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be announced four days later, on May 23.

Lok Sabha elections 2019: Catch all the Live updates from final phase of voting here:

Newest First Oldest First

6:16 PM, 19 May

Rahul Gandhi tweets:

From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, “Modi’s Army” & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians.

The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2019

6:10 PM, 19 May

Net voter turnout of 60.21 percent recorded till 6 pm in seventh phase.

6:10 PM, 19 May

Chandigarh

Estimated voter turnout till 6 pm in Chandigarh was 63.57 percent.

6:09 PM, 19 May

Jharkhand

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Jharkhand was 70.5 percent. Three seats of Jharkhand are voting today.

6:09 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Voter turnout till 6 pm in West Bengal was 73.05 percent. Nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal are polling today.

6:09 PM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Uttar Pradesh was 54.37 percent. 13 Lok Sabha seats in UP are voting today including Varanasi and Gorakhpur. There are 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

6:09 PM, 19 May

Punjab

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Punjab was 58.81 percent. All 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab are voting today.

6:08 PM, 19 May

Madhya Pradesh

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Madhya Pradesh was 69.38 percent.

6:08 PM, 19 May

Himachal Pradesh

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Himachal Pradesh was 66.18 percent.

6:08 PM, 19 May

Bihar

Voter turnout till 6 pm in Bihar was 49.92 percent.

6:00 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

73 percent turnout in West Bengal till 5 pm in last phase.

5:58 PM, 19 May

According to the Election Commission app, in Uttar Pradesh, 48.90% voting was recorded till 5pm in 13 Lok Sabha seats, officials said. The turnout in Varanasi was 46.53%, while in Gorakhpur, it was 48.17%. The highest turnout was 53.30% in Deoria, while Ballia reported the lowest turnout of 42.51%, the Election Commission said.

5:57 PM, 19 May

In 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 7.27 crore voters took part of which 3.47 crore were women and 3,377 were persons of third gender, says EC.

5:39 PM, 19 May

Polling has concluded in 542 parliamentary constituencies across state and union territories, says Election Commission.

5:38 PM, 19 May

Madhya Pradesh

3-feet tall Vinita Mehta casts her vote

Indore: 3-feet tall Vinita Mehta cast her vote for #LokSabhaElections2019 at polling booth no. 212 earlier today. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/waNiVsGUei
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019

5:35 PM, 19 May

Jharkhand

Jharkhand: Polling officials seal EVMs and VVPATs after polling concluded at polling station - 37 in Dumka. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/V64C34mStj
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019

5:10 PM, 19 May

Chandigarh

Estimated voter turnout till 3 pm in Chandigarh was 51.18 percent.

5:10 PM, 19 May

Jharkhand

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Jharkhand was 66.64 percent. Three seats of Jharkhand are voting today.

5:10 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Voter turnout till 5 pm in West Bengal was 64.87 percent. Nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal are polling today.

5:10 PM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Uttar Pradesh was 47.21 percent. 13 Lok Sabha seats in UP are voting today including Varanasi and Gorakhpur. There are 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

5:10 PM, 19 May

Punjab

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Punjab was 50.49 percent. All 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab are voting today.

5:09 PM, 19 May

Madhya Pradesh

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Madhya Pradesh was 59.75 percent.

5:09 PM, 19 May

Himachal Pradesh

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Himachal Pradesh was 57.43 percent.

5:09 PM, 19 May

Bihar

Voter turnout till 5 pm in Bihar was 46.75 percent.

5:06 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Since morning the torture that BJP workers and CRPF have done during polling in our state, I have never seen it before, says Mamata Banerjee.

4:53 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Trinamool Congress's party office has been set on fire at Bhatpara, says reports.

4:52 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

TMC leader Derek O’ Brian has issued a second official statement against the violence that erupted in Bengal during polling. "We are against violence and want the polling process to be peaceful. But the BJP is resorting to a high level of violence in the Bhatpara Assembly by poll. This is dangerous for democracy. Goons of Arjun Singh have hurled bombs and even attacked the Trinamool candidate Shri Madan Mitra," he said.

4:51 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Mamata Banerjee casts vote:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after casting her vote for #LokSabhaElections2019 at a polling station in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/jVDFPJytnh
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019

4:24 PM, 19 May

West Bengal

Massive rigging including in Diamond Harbour, Dum Dum, North Kolkata. There are no central forces, no efforts to stop the highjacking of Democracy. EC cannot merely watch it needs to intervene decisively. It is the people resisting this violence and wresting back their rights, tweets Sitaram Yechury.

4:23 PM, 19 May

Bihar

Bihar: Police official on polling duty allegedly attacked for stopping bogus voting at polling booth 49 in Arrah. ADM (pic3) says,"We received info of stone pelting but there has been no disturbance in voting, some ppl might have tried to create trouble, they've been chased out" pic.twitter.com/EeTF3tjCUu
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019

12:12 AM, 19 May

The seventh and the last phase of polls is crucial for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition. Of the 59 seats that are voting today, the BJP-led NDA had won 40 in 2014.

12:14 AM, 19 May

West Bengal

Preparations are in place for the seventh and final phase of the general elections in West Bengal, where nine Lok Sabha constituencies will go to the polls today. An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in these nine seats -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

12:15 AM, 19 May

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a four-cornered contest between the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

12:17 AM, 19 May

Himachal Pradesh

Five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates trying to make it to Parliament from Himachal Pradesh where polling will be held Sunday, the last phase of voting in the 2019 elections. Among the 45 candidates is Congress nominee from Mandi, Aashray Sharma, whose father had to sacrifice his berth in the state's BJP government. There are 53,30,154 registered voters for the four constituencies -- Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra -- in the state.

5:01 AM, 19 May

Jharkhand

The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided in Jharkhand.

5:03 AM, 19 May

Patna Sahib, Bihar

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Ravi Shankar Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha. He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha - the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now contesting as the Congress candidate.

5:17 AM, 19 May

Dehri, Bihar

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat.

5:18 AM, 19 May

Bihar

Four Union ministers: Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey are among the 157 candidates in Bihar. Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan".

5:19 AM, 19 May

West Bengal

In West Bengal, over 1 crore voters will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats--Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

5:20 AM, 19 May

Goa

A bypoll will be held in Goa's capital Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March.

5:20 AM, 19 May

Tamil Nadu

By-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

5:22 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

All eyes will be on Varanasi, where besides PM Modi, 25 other candidates are contesting. PM Modi's main opponents are Congress''s Ajay Rai and Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party grand alliance nominee Shalini Yadav.

5:31 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

5:31 AM, 19 May

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

5:31 AM, 19 May

Punjab

In Punjab, Shirmani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife and union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal are among the 278 candidates. Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates.

5:33 AM, 19 May

Madhya Pradesh

Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh. Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa, the latter seeing a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

5:34 AM, 19 May

Himachal Pradesh

Polling will also be held in all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh where as many as 45 candidates, including five legislators, are in the fray.

5:40 AM, 19 May

Google has, once again, dedicated its doodle elaborating on the voting process for the elections. Just like it did in the last six phases on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6 and May 12, Google today shows off the iconic post-vote finger marked with black ink that indicates that a vote has been cast.

5:53 AM, 19 May

West Bengal

A total of 710 companies of central forces are being deployed by the Election Commission to cover 17,042 polling booths to ensure free and fair voting, officials said. The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.

5:54 AM, 19 May

There are around 909 candidates in the fray contesting in this final phase. The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 7 election is Rs. 4.61 crores.

6:07 AM, 19 May

A report by the Association For Democratic Reforms says out of the 716 women candidates analysed, 255(36%) are crorepatis. Out of 665 women candidates analysed during Lok Sabha 2014 elections, 219 (33%) women candidates were crorepatis.

6:39 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Visuals of preparation at polling booth no.243-249 in Gorakhpur. CM Yogi Adityanath will cast his vote at booth no. 246 here.

Visuals of preparation at polling booth no.243-249 in Gorakhpur. CM Yogi Adityanath will cast his vote at booth no. 246 here. Voting for the 7th and last phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 will begin at 7 AM today. pic.twitter.com/4UFlnpDS8W
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 19, 2019

6:39 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Gorakhpur: CM Yogi Adityanath offers prayers at Gorakhnath Temple.

Gorakhpur: CM Yogi Adityanath offers prayers at Gorakhnath Temple. pic.twitter.com/jxACCAij5t
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 19, 2019

6:40 AM, 19 May

West Bengal

People queue up outside polling station no. 152/41 and 152/47 in South Kolkata to cast their votes.

West Bengal: People queue up outside polling station no. 152/41 and 152/47 in South Kolkata to cast their votes. Voting for the 7th and last phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 will begin at 7 AM. pic.twitter.com/ir9ig7jpGQ
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019

6:43 AM, 19 May

On the eve of polling in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, BSP supremo Mayawati on May 18 wondered if Varanasi would be a repeat of Rae Bareli in 1977 when maverick politician Raj Narain defeated Indira Gandhi.

6:49 AM, 19 May

Exit polls for the general election will be released shortly after polling concludes today.

7:05 AM, 19 May

Voting begins for 59 parliamentary constituencies in the 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 across Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, MP, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chandigarh.

7:08 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath exercises his franchise at polling booth no. 246 in Gorakhpur.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath exercises his franchise at polling booth no. 246 in Gorakhpur. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/heXwytEqlY
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 19, 2019

7:18 AM, 19 May

Uttar Pradesh

In Chandauli, Residents of Tara Jivanpur village allege ink was forcefully applied to their fingers & they were given Rs 500 y'day by 3 men of their village. Say, "They were from BJP&asked us if we'll vote for the party. They told us now you can't vote. Don't tell anyone."

Chandauli: Residents of Tara Jivanpur village allege ink was forcefully applied to their fingers & they were given Rs 500 y'day by 3 men of their village. Say, "They were from BJP&asked us if we'll vote for the party. They told us now you can't vote. Don't tell anyone." (18.05) pic.twitter.com/yICJKNPwdt
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 19, 2019

7:24 AM, 19 May

BJP writes to CEO Lucknow against BSP Chief Mayawati for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. BJP alleges that Mayawati posted tweets to influence voters after campaigning hours ended for the 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

As the judgement day May 23 draws near, the anxiety and impatience have gripped the nation, and almost everyone is asking just one question, "Who will win the elections?". The BJP stormed to power in 2014 riding on 'Modi wave' and ended a decade long rule of the Congress-led UPA government.

[LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time] [LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time]

What contributed most towards BJP single handedly getting a full majority was an exceedingly good performance in the Hindi-belt, especially in the Uttar Pradesh. Of the 59 seats which are going to polls on May 19, 13 are in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most important states politically. In 2014, the BJP had won 12 of these 13 seats and its ally Apna Dal had won one seat - Mirzapur. Uttar Pradesh is seen as the most important state politically because the state sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Winning 71 out of the 80 seats in 2014 was one of the important factors which propelled the BJP to power in 2014.