Campaigning for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections, to be held on May 25, came to a close on Thursday with top leaders from various political parties and alliances going all out to reach out to the electorate in 58 Parliamentary constituencies spread across eight states and Union Territories.
In the last-minute campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Bhiwani of Haryana while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to supporters in Dwarka of Delhi. Also, Union Minister Piyush Goyal led a roadshow at Najafgarh area of the national capital in support of the BJP candidates.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress party's stalwart leader, addressed a rally in support of his party's candidate for North East Delhi Parliamentary seat and later conducted 'Mahila Vichar Vimarsh' at Mangolpuri.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, another Congress stalwart leader, also led a roadshow in Sirsa of Haryana.
The BJP and opposition-backed INDIA bloc have left no stone unturned in its efforts to woo the voters in their respective favor.
The 58 Lok Sabha constituencies going to polling on Saturday included 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh, followed by Haryana (10), Bihar and West Bengal (8 each), Delhi (7), Odisha (6), Jharkhand (4), and Jammu and Kashmir (1).
A total of 889 candidates are in the fray in this sixth phase of polling.
Prominent BJP candidates include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan contesting from Sambalpur of Odisha, former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal, Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi and Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi.
On the other hand, significant Congress contenders include Kumari Selja competing for Sirsa, Haryana, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak, Haryana, J.P. Agarwal from Chandni Chowk, Delhi, and Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi.
Also drawing attention is senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti contesting from New Delhi.
Polling for the sixth phase is scheduled for May 25, followed by the seventh and final phase on June 1. The results are expected to be announced on June 4.
The constituencies that will see polling on Saturday are as follows:
Bihar: Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Siwan, and Maharajganj.
Haryana: Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Hisar, Karnal, Sonipat, Rohtak, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, and Faridabad.
Jharkhand: Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur.
Odisha: Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, and Bhubaneswar.
Uttar Pradesh: Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr, and Bhadohi.
West Bengal: Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur.
Delhi: Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North West Delhi, West Delhi, and South Delhi.
