17 Apr : Electoral process for the fifth and last phase of Lok Sabha polls covering 86 constituencies spread over nine States and Union Territories began with President Pratibha Patil issuing a notification on Friday.
In the final phase, elections would be held on 13th May for 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in West Bengal, nine in Punjab, five in Uttarakhand, four seats in Himachal Pradesh, two in Jammu and Kashmir, one each in Chandigarh and Puducherry.
The filing of nominations, commencing from Friday with the issuance of notification, would end on 24th April.The final phase will decide the electoral fortunes of several Union Ministers including P Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu.
All the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry will have a single phase polling on 13th May.Other prominent contestants figuring in the last phase include Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit), his mother Maneka Gandhi
(Aonla), cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin (Moradabad) and Jayaprada (Rampur) — all in Uttar Pradesh.The counting of votes would take place on 16th May.
60 pc turnout in 1st phase of LS polls
Moderate to heavy polling was reported in the first phase of elections in various parts of the country in 124 constituencies on Thursday even as largescale violence by Naxals in four states killed 18 people, including five poll officials and 10 security personnel.
Polling was held in 124 constituencies spread across 15 states and two union territories. Elections to 154 Assembly segments in Andhra Pradesh and 70 in Orissa also took place on Thursday.
Low turnout of voters was reported from Uttar Pradesh (48 to 50 percent) and Bihar (46 percent) in the first phase with the two key states accounting for 120 Lok Sabha seats.
Orissa recorded a voter turnout of 53 percent and Kandhamal, the ground zero of anti-Christian violence, saw 65 percent polling.
The tentative polling percentage in Andhra Pradesh was recorded 65 percent, Arunachal Pradesh (62), Assam (62), J&K (48), Kerala (60), Maharashtra (54), Manipur (68), Meghalaya (65), Mizoram (52), Nagaland (84), Orissa (53), Uttar Pradesh (50), Chhatisgarh (51), Jharkhand (50) and Andaman and Nicobar (62).
The highest polling of 86 percent was reported from Lakshwadweep and over 60 percent cast their votes in Left Front-ruled Kerala where 20 seats are up for grab.
Voting began on a sedate note in the 124 constituencies spread across 17 states and union territories and picked up during the day.