New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said her party did not allow the BJP to divert the focus in elections from issues of employment and farming as she asserted that the victory of 'Nyay' was certain on May 23.

Campaigning in the bitterly fought marathon Lok Sabha elections, spread over 38 days, drew to a close Friday evening as top leaders made a final push in the seventh and concluding phase for the remaining 59 seats.

"Dear friends, 60 days of spirited election campaign for 'one person one vote' or political equality was made possible because of your love," Priyanka said.

"Despite BJP's efforts, we did not allow the elections to be diverted from issues of employment, farming, and income. On the 23rd (May), the victory of 'Nyay' (justice) and people's voice is certain," said the AICC general secretary, in-charge Uttar Pradesh (East).

The Congress' proposed Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay) promises up to Rs 72,000 a year to 20 per cent of India's poorest families if the party is voted to power.

Polling will be held on Sunday in the seventh phase in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Counting of votes in the world's largest exercise in democracy will be taken up on May 23.

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Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.

Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.

According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.

Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.

As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.

"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.

The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.

After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.

He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.

However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.

During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.

The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.