Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Phase 5: These Cities To Witness Dry Day Till May 20

During the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2024, "dry days" will be observed in four cities in Maharashtra - Mumbai, Palghar, Kalyan, and Thane - as they fall within the constituencies scheduled for voting.

This prohibition was initiated at 5 p.m. on Saturday and will remain in effect until 5 p.m. on May 20, as reported by Hindustan Times.

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A "dry day" signifies a restriction on the sale of alcohol. As the sale of liquor is regulated by state laws, prohibition regulations vary across the nation. In adherence to the instructions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), dry days will be observed in the constituencies conducting elections and neighbouring constituencies.

This measure is intended "to ensure a fair electoral process across the state." Additionally, another dry day is scheduled for June 4 in Mumbai for the vote-counting process.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha polls Phase 5

In Maharashtra, the fifth voting phase will cover 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. During Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, the constituencies undergoing the voting process include Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, Mumbai South, Thane, Kalyan, Palghar, Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, and Bhiwandi, as reported by Hindustan Times.

In the upcoming phase, one of the key candidates is Union Minister Piyush Goyal, contesting for the first time from the Mumbai North constituency. Goyal faces actor-politician Bhushan Patil in this electoral battle. During the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra witnessed an overall voter turnout of 52.63 per cent. Among the 11 constituencies that went to polls, Nandurbar recorded the highest turnout at about 60.60 per cent.

Lok Sabha Election Phase 5

In addition to Maharashtra, voting will occur in 36 other constituencies across Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, covering 49 constituencies spread across eight States/Union Territories, is scheduled for Monday.

The Election Commission reports that 695 candidates are competing in these constituencies. This figure was derived after reviewing 1,586 nomination forms submitted for the fifth phase, of which 749 were deemed valid by the May 3 deadline, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Voting will commence at 7 am and conclude at 6 pm. According to the ECI, the average number of contesting candidates per parliamentary constituency in the fifth phase is 18.