All eyes on exit polls today after 57 seats vote in final phase

Varanasi/Chandigarh, NT Bureau: The grand, sevenphase Indian voting exercise to elect 543 members to the Lok Sabha will end on Saturday evening and all eyes will then be on the exit polls scheduled to come out after the votes are cast.

According to Election Commission guidelines, television channels and news outlets will be able to run exit poll data and its results on June 1 after 6.30 pm.

In the seventh and final phase on Saturday, fifty-seven seats across seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh will go to polls that include Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term.

Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.

Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies of Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh will also take place simultaneously.

Other prominent candidates among the total 904 contestants in fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and actor Kangana Ranaut.

The marathon polling process began on April 19 and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories. The assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also went to polls.

Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. In Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the counting for the assembly polls will be held on June 2. The turnout in the first six phases was 66.14 per cent, 66.71, 65.68, 69.16, 62.2 and 63.36 per cent respectively. 

Uttar Pradesh is seeing a direct contest between the BJP-led NDA and the coalition of ISamajwadi Party and Congress.

In Punjab, prominent candidates are Preneet Kaur, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Ravneet Singh Bittu. The BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are contesting the polls on their own.

Cong not to participate in exit poll debates

He Congress has decided not to participate in any Lok Sabha exit poll debates on the television channels and said it does not want to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP.

Congress spoksperson and media department chairperson Pawan Khera said the voters have cast their votes and their verdict has been secured.

"The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP," he said in a statement shared on X.