Lok Sabha polls Phase 4: 1,717 candidates in fray, Voting on 96 constituencies to be held tomorrow

New Delhi [India], May 12 : Polling for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections will happen in 96 Parliamentary Constituencies across 9 States and one Union Territory on Monday (May 13).
All 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh and 28 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Odisha will also witness the polling tomorrow.
A total of 1,717 candidates from 10 States/UTs will contest elections in phase 4 of the Lok Sabha polls, Election Commission of India said on Friday.
According to the poll body, a total of 4,264 nominations were filed for 96 parliamentary constituencies across.
The Election Commission further stated that the maximum number of nomination forms were received from Telangana (1488) followed by Andhra Pradesh with 1103 nominations from 25 constituencies.
Malkajgiri Parliamentary Constituency in Telangana received a maximum of 177 nomination forms, followed by 13-Nalgonda and 14-Bhongir in the same state with 114 nomination forms in each.
The poll body further mentioned that the average number of contesting candidates in a parliamentary constituency for the fourth phase is 18.The last date for filing nominations for phase 4 for all 10 States/UTs was April 25, 2024.
The Election Commission on Sunday informed that polling time in certain assembly segments of 17 Parliamentary Constituencies of Telangana was increased by the Commission (from 7 am till 6 pm) to increase voters' participation.
As per the IMD forecast, there is no significant concern regarding the hot weather conditions for the polling in phase 4. The weather forecast indicates that the Parliamentary Constituencies going for polls are likely to experience normal to below normal temperatures (+-2 degrees) and there will be no heat wave like conditions in these areas on the polling day. However, for the convenience of voters, meticulous arrangements have been made at all polling stations, including facilities like water, shamiyana and fans, the Election Commission said.
Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats, 25 are from Andhra Pradesh, 17 from Telangana, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from Maharashtra, eight each from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five from Bihar, four each from Jharkhand and Odisha and one from Jammu and Kashmir.
The fourth phase will witness key contests on various constituencies. Leaders such as AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC leader Mahua Moitra, BJP leader Giriraj Singh, JDU's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), TMC leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan, BJP leaders Arjun Munda and Madhavi Latha, Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief YS Sharmila will be looking for the electoral success.
Baharampur, Hyderabad, Krishnanagar, Begusarai, Munger, Srinagar, Asansol, Kannauj, Kadapa and Khunti are some of the prominent Lok Sabha seats which will witness polling tomorrow.
The campaigning for the fourth phase revolved around the Bharatiya Janata Party, spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeting Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties over several issues.
In this phase, Prime Minister continued attacking opposition parties on the reservation issue, saying that INDIA bloc will snatch away rights of reservation rights of ST, SC and OBC community.
PM Modi, while addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar, took a dig at Lalu Prasad Yadav, saying a "fodder scam accused" leader who is out on bail is advocating reservation for Muslims.
"Congress is silent but today one of its allies confirmed the intentions of the INDI alliance. Their leader who is in jail in connection with the fodder scam and has been punished by the court...He has just come out on bail...He said that Muslims should get reservation and not just reservation, he says that Muslims should get complete reservations. What does this mean? These people want to snatch away all the reservation that SC, ST and OBC communities have and give complete reservation to Muslims," PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister also predicted a clean sweep for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Andhra Pradesh. PM said that he never considered Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy as an 'ally'.
In an interview with NTV, a Telugu news channel, PM Modi said the incumbent YSRCP regime in the state, led by Jagan wouldn't be voted back in the state elections."I don't believe that the present government in Andhra Pradesh will be voted back. The state's economy is in dire straits presently. We never considered Jagan as a potential ally. However, their (YSRCP's) members did support us in certain issues in Parliament," PM Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) on Wednesday, accusing the party of "betraying" the people of the state over development and running a 'Gunda Raaj' in Andhra Pradesh.
The Prime Minister said the YSRCP government prioritised the development of the mafia over the underprivileged people of the state.
Addressing a public rally at Rajampet in Annamayya district here, Prime Minister Modi said, "The people of Andhra Pradesh formed the YSRCP government with a lot of expectations but were betrayed. YSRCP did the development of mafia and not the poor people. The way the ministers of YSRCP are running a 'Gunda Raaj,' everyone has seen it.""YSRCP ke mantri kaise yaha 'Gundgardi' karte hai, yaha 'Rowdy Raaj' chalate hai vo sabke samne hai," said the Prime Minister.
Andhra Congress chief and Kadapa MP candidate YS Sharmila Reddy sent a radio message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to listen to the "Mann Ki Baat" of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
"You are not eligible to enter the state until you apologize to the people of Andhra Pradesh," she said.
"You have been deceiving the state for ten years, showing hypocritical affection during elections but neglecting development. We are presenting a charge sheet on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh. If you dare, write an affidavit promising to fulfil the commitments made to the people of the state now," the APCC chief alleged.
In Telangana, the Prime Minister took a veiled dig at Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that people in the state have to take the burden of double 'R' tax."Since the time the Congress has come to power in Telangana, there has been discussion on double 'R' tax. One 'R' is for Telangana, and the other is for Delhi. Both of them together have made Hyderabad and Telangana into an ATM..."
PM Modi said that people in the city have to bear the burden of "razakar" tax as well.
"Here in Hyderabad, you have to take the burden of triple R tax. Here one R is for Razakars. How this Razakar tax functions is visible in Old Hyderabad. The supporter of Congress and BRS and Majlis MP who has been in power for a long time, has not even given basic facilities to people," PM Modi said.
Continuing his attack on Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the opposition party "hates Hindus and Hindu festivals so much that it is now being exposed daily" and "wants to make Hindus second-class citizens in their own country".
Addressing a rally in Mahbubnagar in Telangana, PM Modi referred to remarks on former Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda about the colour of skin of Indians and some of his other remarks to attack the Congress.
He targeted Rahul Gandhi as "shehzada" and Sam Pitroda as "guru" of the Congress leader.
"Congress hates Hindus and Hindu festivals so much that it is now being exposed daily. The shehzada's guru even went ahead to say that the Ram Temple should not have been built. He went on to say that the construction of Ram Temple and celebrating Ram Navami is anti-India, it is against the idea of India... If you want to visit Ayodhya and celebrate Ram Navami, are you anti-India? Congress wants to make Hindus second-class citizens in their own country. Is this why they talk about vote-jihad?" PM Modi asked.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday while addressing a public rally in Telangana's Bhongir, claimed that if BJP comes to power, it will increase the reservation of SC, ST, and OBC and will end the Muslim reservation.
While appealing to the public, Amit Shah said, "Congress wants to fight elections by speaking lies. They say that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes, he will finish the reservation. Prime Minister Modi has been leading this country unanimously for the last 10 years, but he did not end the reservation. However, the Congress party has robbed the reservations of SC, ST and OBC by giving 4 per cent reservation to Muslims."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed to fill 30 lakh government jobs once the opposition coalition, INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre.
Rahul Gandhi, during a public meeting in Telangana's Medak on Thursday, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment woes in the country. He alleged that PM Modi "made crores of youth" unemployed.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed to fill 30 lakh government jobs once the opposition coalition, INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre. Rahul Gandhi, during a public meeting in Telangana's Medak on Thursday, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment woes in the country. He alleged that PM Modi "made crores of youth" unemployed.
Things also boiled down in Hyderabad over Navneet Rana's 15-second lagenge remark.
Reacting to BJP leader Navneet Rana's "15-second lagenge" remark, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give her one hour instead of 15 seconds and asserted they are not "scared" of the BJP leader.
"I tell Modi ji - give her 15 seconds. What will you do? Give her 15 seconds, give her 1 hour. We, too, want to see if you have any humanity left in you. Who is scared? We are ready...If someone is making an open call for it, then so be it. PM is yours; RSS is yours; everything is yours. Do it. Who is stopping you? Tell us where we have to come, we will be there. Do it," Owaisi told reporters on Thursday.
Invoking a provocative statement by AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi from 2013, BJP leader Navneet Rana issued a veiled warning to the Owaisi brothers in their stronghold of Hyderabad on Wednesday.To the AIMIM leader's statement that they would take them all of '15 minutes' to balance out the "Hindu-Muslim ratio" in the country, Navneet, who seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from Amravati, on a BJP ticket this time; hit back at the Owaisi brothers, saying "it would take us 15 seconds if the police were removed or made to stand down".
The war of words has broken out between the BJD and the BJP in the ongoing elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Kandhamal on Saturday, challenged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to name the districts and their headquarters in the state without using paper and said that the state's development remains stunted as the government doesn't trust the people's capabilities.
"I want to challenge 'Naveen Babu' as he has been the CM for such a long time and ask 'Naveen Babu' to name the districts of Odisha and their respective capitals (headquarters) without seeing them on paper. If the CM cannot name the districts of the state, will he know your pain?" the Prime Minister asked.
Addressing another gathering, PM Modi accused the Biju Janata Dal of being "oblivious to people's grievances" and detached from the ground realities.
The Prime Minister also said Odisha will support the BJP in "record numbers" in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Hitting back at the Prime Minister and the BJP, Pandian said that BJP leaders have been "daydreaming" of forming a government in the state for the past 10 years.
"PM Modi comes to give booster dose to the state BJP leaders and the BJP itself does not have hope that they will form government. Their leaders do not have hope that they will form government, and their grassroots cadre also does not have hope. That is why they need booster doses, but for the Odisha BJP, even booster doses will not help," Pandian said.
Pandian said there are "many election tourists" who come to Odisha during elections and say sweet words but after the elections are over, they "disappear for the next five years."
Odisha Chief Electoral Officer on Sunday shared how polling officials are taking special efforts to ensure the succesfful conduct of elections.
"Breaking barriers for democracy! Polling teams, police, sector officer, and micro observers set sail from Indravati Reservoir to reach the Cut-off areas of Nabarangpur in Tentulikhunti block. Ensuring every vote counts!" the Chief Electoral Officer posted on X.
In another post, Odisha CEO said, "Polling party heli dropped by Indian Air Force into a remote booth to ensure every voice counts on May 13th. Our commitment to democracy knows no bounds!"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an attack on Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar over his 'Pakistan has an atom bomb' remark and accused the party of "finding ways" of scaring the people, adding that 'yeh mare pade log, desh ke mann ko bhi maar rahe hain' (These dead people are also trying to kill the soul of the country).
In an April 15 interview with 'Chill Pill' Aiyar, Aiyar said that Pakistan is a respected nation that also possesses an atom bomb so India must enter into a dialogue with them.
Addressing a public meeting in Odisha's Kandhamal, PM Modi took a jibe at Pakistan's economy and said that while the "country had atom bombs," it was looking for someone to sell them but was unable to do so due to its "poor quality."
"Time and again, Congress tries to scare its own country. They say, 'sambhal ke chalo Pakistan ke pass atom bomb hai. Ye mare pade log, desh ke man ko bhi maar rahe hain'. They talk about Pakistan's bomb, but the condition of Pakistan is such that they don't know how to keep them and they are looking for a buyer to sell their bombs but no one wants to buy them as people know about the quality," the Prime Minister said.
Meanwhile, Sam Pitroda, a long associate of the Congress party and the Gandhi family, is not new to controversies but this time his controversial remark regarding the appearance of Indians went beyond any damage control as the party was compelled to distance itself from what Pitroda said and BJP came out all guns blazing against the party terming his remarks "racist".
After his remarks caused a major political furore in election season and embarrassed the Congress, Sam Pitroda resigned as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday.
Pitroda, in an interview with 'The Statesman', while reflecting upon the democracy in India said, "We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in the North look like white and maybe people in the South look like Africans."
Also, Rashtriya Janata Dal's leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that the people of the country will remove the dictatorial government and the INDIA alliance will form the government on June 4.Speaking with the reporters, Tejashwi Yadav said, "The PM knows that it's certain that he will have to leave (as the PM) this time. Not only in Bihar but across the country, people are going to remove this dictatorial govt. And in the third phase of elections, we are in a very good position. We are fully confident that on June 4, the government of INDIA will come to power."
So far, till phase 3 of the Lok Sabha polls, polling has concluded smoothly and peacefully in 283 Lok Sabha seats.