Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 6: Voting is underway for all seven seats in the national capital under the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to maximise voter turnout before noon.
As the polling got underway in New Delhi, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar was one of the first voters at his designated polling booth in New Delhi district to cast his vote. The Minister expressed his confidence that the voters of Delhi would once again support the Modi government and Viksit Bharat.
EAM Jaishankar, while showing his inked finger after casting his vote for the sixth phase, highlighted that he was the 'first male voter' in the booth.
"We have just cast our vote and I was the first male voter in this booth. We want people to come out and cast their votes as this is a decisive moment for the country," he said."I believe that the voters in Delhi will once again support Viksit Bharat and the Modi government," he stressed.
Dakshin mein saaf aur uttar mein half
Earlier on Friday, S Jaishankar said that the BJP would be making huge strides in the southern states while doubling its hold on the northern states. Trashing Opposition parties' claim that BJP will be 'Dakshin mein saaf aur uttar mein half' (rout in the south, and half in the north), Jaishankar said that the Modi government will return to power with an even bigger majority.
"I think from our point of view...for us, it (BJP) would be dakshin mein double (twice in the south), and for the Opposition, I would say uttar mein even more trouble," he stated.
On being asked about BJP's '400 paar' slogan, Jaishankar acknowledged that this is an 'ambitious target' but said that the number has not been floated just like that, and there is a huge calculation behind it. He added that BJP leaders were advised to visit constituencies the party hadn't won in 2019, and look into what changes need to be made and what needs to be done for winning those seats.
"This is the BJP you are talking about. There is a kind of process, an exercise out of which an outcome is produced...we had done this exercise, which were the seats we did not win in the 2019 election, what should we do to try and win those seats? Among them, what looks more likely? What are the changes we need to make?" the EAM further stated.
Meanwhile, voting for the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections began early in the morning today across 58 parliamentary constituencies spread over six states and two Union Territories (UTs) amid tight security and arrangements. The voting started at 7:00 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote.
The sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls includes eight seats in Bihar, all 10 seats in Haryana, one seat in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Jharkhand, all seven seats in Delhi, six in Odisha, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, and eight in West Bengal. A total of 889 candidates are in the fray.
Some of the key seats in this phase include New Delhi, North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi and Chandni Chowk in the national capital and Sultanpur and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri, West Bengal's Tamluk, Medinipur, Haryana's Karnal, Kurukshetra, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Odisha's Bhubaneswar, Puri and Sambalpur are some of the other key seats.
Stakes are high for the BJP as well as for the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and other constituents of the I.N.D.I.A bloc in this phase of the election. The party is actively encouraging voters to reach polling booths through booth-level management by its workers. Also, prominent leaders and candidates cast their votes early in the morning to motivate both workers and voters.
Among those who cast their votes early in the day include Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP's Delhi State President Virendra Sachdeva, former MP and former international cricketer Gautam Gambhir, and Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.
To inspire public participation, several BJP leaders voted with their families. Following their votes, senior BJP leaders appealed to public to come out and vote, expressing confidence in winning all seven seats in Delhi and forming an NDA coalition government again at the Centre.
To secure victory in all seven seats in Delhi, BJP has fielded Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi, Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi, Harsh Malhotra from East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk, and Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are jointly contesting against BJP in Delhi, with AAP contesting four seats and Congress three seats, according to their alliance formula.
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