Voting underway in 58 LS constituencies in eight states, UTs; 42 assembly seats in Odisha
New Delhi, May 25: Voting commenced for 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories, including all the seven seats in Delhi, in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.
Besides the national capital, polling is underway in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Simultaneously, polling is being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and the Karnal assembly bypoll in Haryana.
Voting began at 7 am and people were seen queuing up at polling stations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to urge voters to exercise their right to franchise in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections in large numbers.
"I urge all those who are voting in the 6th phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to vote in large numbers. Every vote counts, make yours count too! Democracy thrives when its people are engaged and active in the electoral process. I especially urge women voters and youth voters to vote in large numbers," he said.
Over 11.13 crore voters -- 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5,120 third gender -- are eligible to exercise their franchise. The Election Commission (EC) has deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations.
With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, the EC has directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar, BJP's Maneka Gandhi, Sambit Patra, Manohar Lal Khattar and Manoj Tiwari, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Congress' Deepender Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar and Kanhaiya Kumar.
In West Bengal, voting will be held in the tribal belt Jangal Mahal region, spanning five districts. A hotspot for identity politics, the region sends eight representatives to Lok Sabha from Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur seats. Out of the eight seats, the BJP won five and TMC bagged three in the 2019 polls.
An interesting fight is on the cards in Delhi with the BJP and the INDIA bloc partners pitted in a direct, one-on-one contest in all the seven seats.
This is the first time the AAP and the Congress have fielded joint candidates against the BJP. While the AAP is contesting four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates on the remaining three seats.
The seats going to the polls in Uttar Pradesh are Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi.
From Sultanpur, BJP candidate Maneka Gandhi is seeking her ninth entry into the Lok Sabha. The former Union minister is up against the Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad and the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Uday Raj Verma.
Around 82.16 lakh voters, including 40.09 lakh females, are eligible to exercise their franchise in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur constituencies of Jharkhand.
Haryana is witnessing a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on most seats. Besides Union ministers Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar and former chief minister Khattar, and Congress's Kumari Selja, Deepender Singh Hooda and Raj Babbar are among the candidates.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is contesting the Karnal byelection.
Saini, who is the sitting Kurukshetra MP, was sworn in as the chief minister on March 12, replacing Khattar. Nine candidates are in the fray for the bypoll which was necessitated by Khattar's resignation as MLA. Also after becoming chief minister, Saini needs to get elected as an MLA within six months.
Twenty candidates including PDP's Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference's Mian Altaf are in the fray from the redrawn Anantnag-Rajouri constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
Multi-layer security arrangements have been put in place in the constituency spread across 18 assembly segments in Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian in south Kashmir and Rajouri and Poonch districts south of Pir Panjal.
In Bihar, 86 candidates are in the fray in the eight seats of Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali.
Polling is being held in six parliamentary constituencies of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri and Sambalpur along with 42 assembly seats under these Lok Sabha segments.
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White Smoke signals new Pope elected after Francis' death
Vatican City: The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope. White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening, accompanied by the ringing of St. Peter’s Basilica’s bells, signalling that the College of Cardinals has elected a successor to Pope Francis.
The announcement came on the first full day of voting by the 133 cardinal electors, who began their conclave behind the Vatican’s ancient walls on Wednesday. At around 6:08 p.m. local time (1608 GMT), the much-anticipated white smoke confirmed that the cardinals had reached the required two-thirds majority needed to select the new pontiff.
A wave of joy and applause swept through the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square as they witnessed the historic moment. Many had been waiting for hours, watching the chimney for signs of a decision.
The identity of the newly elected pope and the name he has chosen will be officially announced from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica shortly. He is also expected to deliver his first address and blessing to the faithful assembled in the square.
The conclave was called following the death of Pope Francis on April 21. Francis, who led the Church’s 1.4 billion followers for 12 years, had left behind a mixed but impactful legacy. Known for his push for reform, he encouraged dialogue on complex issues like the role of women in the Church and greater acceptance of LGBT Catholics. His papacy was marked by a vision to modernise the Church while maintaining its core spiritual values.
Though there were no clear favourites ahead of the vote, speculation centred on Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State under Francis, and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Others considered possible candidates included French Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, American Cardinal Robert Prevost, Italian Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Filipino Bishop Pablo Virgilio David.
The decision of the cardinals, who had been cut off from the outside world and sworn to secrecy during the conclave, reflects the Church’s next direction. They were tasked with choosing between continuing the progressive path laid by Francis or shifting back towards a more conservative leadership.
During the voting process, which started with an inconclusive round on Wednesday evening and continued through two more rounds on Thursday morning, the cardinals remained secluded. Their only connection with the outside world was through the colour of the smoke signals — black for no decision and white when a new pope is elected.
Traditionally, it takes an average of around seven ballots to elect a pope. Pope Francis was chosen after just five rounds in 2013. The precise number of rounds taken this time has not been disclosed yet.
The world now awaits the formal appearance of the new pope, who will step out to greet the global Catholic community and outline the tone of his papacy.
