Lok Sabha elections phase 5 today: From top candidates to states in fray, everything you need to know

The stage is set for another phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, scheduled for May 20. This will be the fifth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election, and the silence period kicked in on May 18. In the four phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the fate of 379 constituencies is sealed. During the fifth phase, voters from 49 seats across 8 states will exercise their franchise. 

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will see a contest on several high-profile seats, with many national leaders in the fray. After dipping in the first three phases of elections, the voting percentage jumped in the fourth phase, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) will try to keep up with this trend. 

Total number of candidates in Lok Sabha elections phase 5

A total of 695 candidates will contest elections in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on 49 constituencies across eight states. The candidate list includes high-profile names like Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is also among the candidates in the fifth phase

States that will vote in Lok Sabha elections phase 5

In the fifth phase, voting will be held across eight states which include Jharkhand (3 constituencies), Odisha (5 constituencies), Uttar Pradesh (14 constituencies), Bihar (5 constituencies), Maharashtra (13 constituencies), West Bengal (7 constituencies),  Ladakh's sole constituency and Jammu and Kashmir (1 constituency). 

Top candidates in Lok Sabha elections phase 5

1. Rajnath Singh is amongst the tallest leaders fighting the election from Lucknow in the fifth phase against Ravidas Mehrotra (SP). 

2. Rahul Gandhi, the former President of Congress, is contesting from his family's bastion of Raebareli against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh. 

3. The voters in Amethi will come out to exercise their mandate in the tough contest between sitting BJP MP Smriti Irani and Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma 

4. Union Minister Piyush Goyal is going against Congress' Bhushan Patil on the Mumbai North seat. 

5. Popular LJP leader Chirag Paswan is contesting from Bihar's Hajipur and will go against RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram. 

6. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah will contest elections from the Baramulla seat of Jammu and Kashmir, and he will face Sajad Lone from the Peoples Conference.