The Lok Sabha elections have reached their climax. After two and a half months of relentless campaigning, the microphones have finally fallen silent. Leaders who fiercely attacked their opponents have now taken a break. With the campaign period for the final phase of polling ending, top leaders have turned to spiritual pursuits.
The last phase of voting will take place on June 1 across 8 states for 57 seats. The results will be announced on June 4, with both the NDA and the INDIA coalition confident of their victory.
In the final phase, voting will occur in 57 constituencies with 904 candidates in the fray. Punjab has the highest number of candidates (328), followed by UP (144) and Bihar (134). Prime Minister Modi's constituency, Varanasi, will also vote in this phase. Modi released a special message urging Varanasi voters to create a new record.
In Varanasi, PM Modi faces Congress's key leader Ajay Rai. Other notable candidates include actress Kangana Ranaut from BJP and Vikramaditya Singh from Congress in Mandi, Ravi Kishan from BJP and Kajal Nishad from Samajwadi Party in Gorakhpur, and Anurag Thakur from BJP and Satyapal Singh from Congress in Hamirpur. In Diamond Harbour, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee faces BJP's Abhijit Das. Misa Bharti, daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting from Pataliputra in Bihar. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, 199 of the 904 candidates have criminal records.
The Election Commission is paying special attention to Bengal, which has seen violence in every election. Nine constituencies there will have tight security.
The results of the elections will be announced on June 4. PM Modi is confident of a hat-trick victory, with both the NDA and the INDIA coalition expressing optimism. Modi is contesting from Varanasi for the third time. The final phase will see polling in 8 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, 4 in Himachal Pradesh, 3 in Jharkhand, 6 in Odisha, 13 in Punjab, 13 in UP, and 9 in Bengal, along with Chandigarh. In total, 598 candidates, including Modi, are in the fray.
With the campaign ending, all parties are now focusing on poll management. The NDA and the INDIA coalition are primarily competing in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh, while Odisha, Punjab, and Bengal see triangular contests. In Bengal, Congress has not allied with TMC. Modi, who began his campaign in March in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, concluded in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, participating in 200 rallies and giving 80 interviews over 75 days. On the last day of the campaign, he addressed Varanasi voters through a video message.
There is intense anticipation about the voter turnout in the final phase, which will take place from 7 AM to 6 PM. The voter turnout in the six previous phases varied, with the highest being 69.16% in the fourth phase and the lowest being 61.98% in the sixth phase. The Election Commission is prepared to conduct the final phase smoothly.
As soon as the polling ends on Saturday, there will be a lot of interest in the exit polls. BJP leaders are confidently predicting 400 seats for their party, ensuring Modi's third term as Prime Minister. However, the opposition argues that BJP's seats will decrease significantly in the north. Modi has run a whirlwind campaign, highlighting different issues in each phase, while Congress's campaign has been led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
