India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 5: Who votes and what’s at stake?

Voters to decide the fate of 695 candidates, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, in the fifth phase of polls.

Indians will cast their ballots on May 20 for the fifth phase of the world’s largest electoral exercise as the country’s national election enters its final stages after weeks of heated campaign barbs and seemingly lower-than-expected voter enthusiasm.

Forty-nine constituencies will be up for grabs across six states and two federally administered territories (union territories). The main opposition Congress party’s leader Rahul Gandhi is on the ballot in the family bastion of Rae Bareli in the northern Uttar Pradesh (UP) state while Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh will be seeking a third term in Lucknow, the capital of UP.

Voting in the seven-phase elections kicked off on April 19 and the last phase will be held on June 1, concluding a mammoth exercise in which at least 969 million people are registered to vote. People from across 36 states and union territories are expected to elect 543 representatives to the Lok Sabha – the parliament’s lower house. Votes will be counted on June 4.

The first four phases – April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13 – saw a voter turnout of 66.1, 66.7, and 61 percent and 67.3 percent respectively.

Most political parties are aligned with two major coalitions: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of 26 parties led by the main opposition party, the Congress.