LS polls 2019 LIVE | Voter turnout at 6 PM: 60.21%

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close on Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat.Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23. Follow Deccan Herald for all the latest updates.

10 crore people to decide fate to 918 in Phase VII

Over 10.01-crore voters are expected to cast their votes in about 1.12-lakh polling stations as 59 constituencies are set to go to polls in the seventh and the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday.

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Who could be the next PM?

As voting for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls concludes today, unlike in 2014, there is so much uncertainty this time over who will form the next government and who will be the next prime minister.

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Pawar Play: Maratha strongman could be dark horse

Twenty years ago, on April 17, 1999, to be precise, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by just one vote, Sharad Pawar was Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

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‘BJP may be restricted to 200 seats’

Ajay Bose, a political analyst and author of BSP chief Mayawati’s biography, has a keen eye on Indian politics.

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Voting begins for last phase Lok Sabha polls

Polling began Sunday morning for 59 Lok Sabha seats in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls to decide the fate of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking to retain the Varanasi seat in Uttar Pradesh.
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Uttar Pradesh CM casts his vote

PM Modi urges citizens to go exercise their right to vote

Today is the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. I urge all those voting in this phase to vote in record numbers. Your one vote will shape India’s development trajectory in the years to come. I also hope first time voters vote enthusiastically.

— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2019

PM Modi ends mediation and emerges out of holy cave

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar casts his vote at polling booth number 326 at a school in Raj Bhawan, Patna.

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh waits in queue to cast his vote

EVM malfunction reported at booth no.6 in Pant Nagar of Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency.

State wise break down of polling today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kedarnath

Ravi Shankar Prasad casts his vote at booth no. 77 in Patna Women's College.

West Bengal: Reports of EVM malfunction coming in from some polling booths in Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency

Elections are a festival in a democracy: Yogi Adityanath

Voter turnout recorded till 9 am

Manish Tewari cast his vote at Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.

14.33% voter turnout till 10 AM in West Bengal

Voters greeted with flowers at a polling station in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

TMC writes to EC on Modi's Kedarnath yatra

'Election campaign for last phase of polling for Lok Sabha polls is over, surprisingly Narendra Modi's Kedarnath Yatra is being widely covered by the media for the last 2 days. This is a gross violation of model code of conduct,' Trinamool Congress to EC.

Summer season not right for holding elections: Nitish

Questioning the long drawn polling in intense heat conditions, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday suggested that Lok Sabha elections should be held in two or three phases.

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West Bengal: Voters protest outside polling station number 189 in Basirhat

Modi thanks EC for giving nod to his visit to Kedarnath

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked the Election Commission for granting him permission to visit the Kedarnath shrine at a time when the model code of conduct is in force.

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Voter turnout recorded till 11 am

TMC workers are not allowing people to cast their vote: BJP MP candidate from Basirhat, Sayantan Basu

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan casts her vote at a polling booth in Indore.

Women TMC workers with covered faces casting proxy votes: BJP

“Women TMC workers with covered faces are casting proxy votes, it is difficult to establish their identity. When we raised objection to it, they created a ruckus at the polling station,” alleged BJP MP candidate Anupam Hazra inJadavpur.

Bombs hurled near a polling booth at Rabindra Sarani area in Kolkata.

Shyam Saran Negi, Independent India's first voter given a warm welcome as he casts his vote in Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh.

Tension at Kamarhati area of Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency after Central forces allegedly vandalised a TMC camp office.

EVM glitches at many poll booths in last phase of polls

Amid reports of EVM glitches, an average 10-14 per cent polling was recorded in the first two hours of voting on Sunday in 59 seats in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections to decide the fate of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Voter turnout recorded till 12 pm

Rahul hails women for playing key role in LS polls

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hailed women for playing a key role in the general elections and said the voices of"mothers and sisters"must be heard.

His remarks came as polling began for the final phase of the polls in 59 seats to decide the fate of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking to retain the Varanasi seat in Uttar Pradesh.

"Today is the 7th and last phase of polling. Our mothers and sisters have played a key role in these elections, not just as candidates, but also as committed voters whose voices must be heard. I salute them all," Gandhi said.

Earlier,Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted:"Do vote in the last phase of the general elections to make the country liberal and progressive."

"One vote, will make the future of the youth empowered. One vote, will take the farmers towards loan waiver. One vote, will take small traders towards profit. One vote, will get the deprived 'Nyay' (justice)," he said.

West Bengal: BJP candidate for Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, Nilanjan Roy's car vandalised in Dongaria area of the constituency.

TMC writes to EC over PM's Kedarnath visit

The Trinamool Congress Sunday wrote to the Election Commission complaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the media at Kedarnath shrine was "unethical" and that the coverage of his visit was in "gross violation" of the Model Code of Conduct.

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Voters boycott polling at six booths in MP

Voters boycotted polling at six booths in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday over some local issues, a senior election official said.

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Voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Naidu holds second round of talks with Gandhi, Pawar

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu Sunday held the second round of talks with top opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.

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Election verdict to set market trend: Analysts

Exit poll trends will set the tone for the equity markets in the initial part of the week, while the final outcome of the general elections on May 23 would build the road ahead for stocks, analysts said.

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An elderly couple takes a selfie after voting in Indore, MP

World's highest polling station with 49 voters records 53 pc voting in two hours

The world's highest polling station at 15,256 feet, Tashiganag village in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday took little more than two hours to climb up to 53 per cent voting, a state electoral officer said.

There are total 49 registered voters in Tashigang polling station in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, State's Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman said.

The polling began at 7 am when the temperature was below freezing point. Voters came to the polling station wearing their traditional attire to beat the chilly weather.

It recorded voter turnout of 53 per cent till 9 am, he said.

Dhiman said that nearby Hikkim polling station used to be the world's highest polling booth earlier but it was replaced by Tashigang during the 2017 assembly election due to some technical reasons.

Voter turnout recorded till 2 pm

Ghoramara island residents vote with sinking hearts

Residents on Ghoramara fear that the votes they cast Sunday in India's election may be the last before their island sinks into the Bay of Bengal -- a victim of climate change's growing toll.

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India's first voter, Shyam Saran Negi, casts his vote

Notwithstanding his failing vision and aching knees, India's "first" voter Shyam Saran Negi on Sunday reached his polling booth in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district to exercise his franchise.

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UP: SC members allege being prevented from voting

Residents of an Uttar Pradesh village in Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency, near Varanasi, alleged on Sunday that some people forcefully applied ink on their fingers in a bid to prevent them from voting.

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Conjoined sisters cast their votes in Patna

Voter turnout recorded till 3 pm

Political ad spend on Facebook, Google tops Rs 53 cr

Political parties have spent over Rs 53 crore on digital platforms like Google and Facebook between February and May, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for a lion's share of the spending.

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BJP wants central forces in Bengal till MCC ends

The BJP on Sunday urged the Election Commission to order the presence of central armed police forces in West Bengal till the Model Code of Conduct period ends, as it expressed concern that the state's ruling TMC may target a section of voters after polling is over.

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TMC alleges central forces 'intimidating' voters

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged that the central forces were "brutally torturing" and "intimidating" voters in West Bengal and acting as per orders of BJP leaders.

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Polling in full swing at Tashigang, the highest Polling station of India.

Patna: Show inked fingers, get discounts at restaurants

Some of the restaurants in Patna have decided to offer discounts to those customers who have voted in the last phase of the general election.

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Voter turnout at 4 PM: 52.89%; Jharkhand shows 64.81% turnout

Voter turnout at 5 PM: 53.03%; Jharkhand shows 66% turnout

Amrinder terms Sidhu's recent actions as 'ambitious'

The simmering tension between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu was out in the open again with the former accusing the cricketer-turned-politician of damaging the Congress with his "irresponsible actions" just before polls.

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Expel Pragya Thakur: Nitish tells BJP

Hours before the seventh and last phase of election was over, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the BJP to expel leaders like Pragya Thakur for making "highly objectionable remarks" against Mahatma Gandhi.

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Voter turnout at 6 PM: 60.21%