Campaigning ends for seventh phase of LS Polls; Odisha, Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls also to be held

Campaigning has ended for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha Elections. 57 Parliamentary Constituencies across seven states and a Union Territory will go to polls in this phase on Saturday. These include 13 seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, 9 in West Bengal, 8 in Bihar, 6 in Odisha, 4 in Himachal Pradesh, 3 in Jharkhand and one seat in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. A total of 904 candidates are in the fray in this phase of Lok Sabha polls.

Campaigning also ended for the assembly election to 42 seats in Odisha along with byelections to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh which will be held on the same day.

Top leaders of various political parties today intensified their efforts with last-minute rallies and roadshows.

In Punjab, several senior leaders made last-ditch efforts to woo voters.

In Himachal Pradesh, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari held a rally in the Karsog region of the Mandi parliamentary constituency. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a public meeting at Dhalpur in Kullu. He also campaigned in the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency along with BJP candidate and Union Minister Anurag Thakur. On the other hand, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a roadshow in Solan.

In Jharkhand, now political parties including BJP, JMM, Congress, RJD and left parties have started door-to-door campaigns, requesting people to cast their votes in favour of their candidates. Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said a number of measures have been taken at polling booths in view of the intense heat. Heavy deployment of security forces has been made to ensure free and fair polls. Jawans of security forces held flag marches in sensitive areas to instil confidence among electorates.