Lok Sabha Elections LIVE UPDATES: 49.7% Voter Turnout Till 3 pm

LIVE UPDATES: Polling began on Saturday for 57 seats in eight states and Union Territories in the seventh and final phase of India’s extensive electoral process.

These seats are distributed as follows:

• Uttar Pradesh and Punjab: 13 each
• West Bengal: 9
• Bihar: 8
• Odisha: 6
• Himachal Pradesh: 4
• Jharkhand: 3
• Chandigarh: 1

Among these seats:

• 13 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs)
• 3 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs)

Over 100.6 million voters are eligible to participate in this phase, comprising 52.4 million males, 48.2 million females, and 3,574 belonging to the third gender.

They will cast their votes at 109,000 polling stations, choosing from 908 candidates.

The Election Commission has deployed around 1.09 million polling officials to ensure a smooth voting process.

“Polling stations provide all basic facilities, including ample shade, drinking water, ramps, and toilets, to ensure a comfortable and secure environment for voters,” said an Election Commission spokesperson.

Additionally, measures have been taken to mitigate the adverse impacts of hot weather or rainfall where predicted.

Simultaneously, polling will be held for the remaining 42 seats in Odisha’s Assembly elections.

Himachal Pradesh will hold six bypolls that will impact the Congress government led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.