The stage is all set for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 58 Parliamentary Constituencies tomorrow. In this phase, eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, all ten seats in Haryana, four seats in Jharkhand, all seven seats in Delhi, six in Odisha, 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, eight seats in West Bengal and one Parliamentary Constituency in Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls. The voting will begin at 7 AM.
Political fate of prominent leaders including senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan, Maneka Gandhi, Manohar Lal Khattar, Sambit Patra, Bansuri Swaraj and Manoj Tiwari and Congress leaders Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar and Kanhaiya Kumar as well as Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti will be sealed in the EVMs.
Elaborate arrangements have been made by the Election Commission to ensure smooth and hassle free voting in these areas. Basic facilities ranging from shade, drinking water, ramps, toilets, wheelchairs to electricity will be in place to ensure that every voter, including elderly and persons with disabilities, can cast their vote with ease. State Chief Electoral Officers, District Election Officers and State machineries have been advised to take adequate measures to manage hot weather conditions. Security has also been beefed up in the polling areas to avoid any untoward incident and ensure free, and fair polls.
In National Capital Delhi, a total of 162 candidates are in the fray. Akashwani correspondent reports that a total of one crore 52 lakh people are eligible to exercise their franchise in Delhi, out of which around 82 lakh are male and 70 lakh are female voters. The voting will take place across 13 thousand 637 polling stations spread across the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of the city. A total of 70 pink polling stations have also been set up, which will be entirely managed by women polling staff. For the first time, each parliamentary constituency will have a polling station fully operated by persons with disabilities. Over one lakh security personnel have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the entire election process. The poll body has made arrangements at polling stations to protect voters from adverse weather conditions. With the objective of encouraging voting, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi has partnered with bike-taxi aggregators to offer free rides to and from home for elderly people after voting. It has also partnered with food aggregators that will provide special coupons upon showing voting ink. In addition, the New Delhi Municipal Council has collaborated with around hundred restaurants that will provide discounts ranging from five to fifty percent to those who vote. Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has announced that metro train services will start at 4 a.m. on all routes on Saturday to assist voters on polling day. Similarly, the Delhi Transport Corporation has also announced that it will run additional bus services on 35 routes across Delhi from 4 a.m.
In Uttar Pradesh, Preparations are in full swing for sixth phase of polling tomorrow. Akashvani correspondent reports that polling parties along with EVM machines and other election related material are being sent under tight security. Inter-state and inter-district boundaries have been sealed and security personnel are checking at every barrier. Special vigil is in the districts of Tarai belt which share international borders with Nepal. Sashastra Seema Bal SSB is conducting checking in borderding districts. The political workers who are not voters of the constituency have already been instructed to leave the area immediately. Liqueur shops have also been closed till polling is over tomorrow. The 14 seats of sixth phase are spread over Poorvanchal and Tarai region which includes Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phoolpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti, Dumariaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machali Shahar and Bhadohi.
