Indian voters braved temperatures of nearly 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country as they headed to polling stations in the penultimate phase of the world’s largest election yesterday.
More than 111 million people in 58 constituencies across eight states and federal territories are eligible to vote in the general election’s sixth phase.
According to the Indian Election Commission’s voter turnout app, the turnout was 59.06 percent at 7:45pm. The overall turnout in the same phase of the last election in 2019 was about 63 percent.
The states and union territories which voted today are: Bihar (8 seats), Haryana (all 10 seats), Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat), Jharkhand (4 seats), Delhi (all 7 seats), Odisha (6 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats) and West Bengal (8 seats).
After the sixth phase, polling will be completed in 486 constituencies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a rare, third straight term in a vote which pits his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties, including main rival Congress.
India’s weather bureau this week issued a heatwave “red alert” for Delhi and surrounding states where tens of millions of people casted their ballots yesterday.
The India Meteorological Department warned of heightened health risks for infants, the elderly and those with chronic diseases.
Paramedics were on hand with oral hydration salts at polling stations in Delhi, where mist machines, shaded waiting areas and cold water dispensers have also been installed by the Election Commission due to concerns about the heat.
“We hope that people will overcome the fear of the heatwave and come and vote,” Delhi Chief Electoral Officer P Krishnamurthy told Reuters.
Modi also urged people to “vote in large numbers” in a message on social media platform X yesterday.
It was not clear which party would gain from a lower turnout.
The temperature in the capital hovered around 42C (107.6F) but felt like 49C (120.2F) at 2:00pm, the weather department said, prompting many voters to question why polls were not held when the weather was “more conducive”.
The key candidates in the sixth phase are India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (BJP) from Sambalpur (Odisha), Manoj Tiwari (BJP) and Kanhaiya Kumar (Congress) from North East Delhi, Maneka Gandhi (BJP) from Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) from Anantnag-Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir), Abhijit Gangopadhyay (BJP) from Tamluk (West Bengal) and BJP’s former chief minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal).
In Delhi, a bevy of high-profiled BJP and Congress politicians made their way to the polling booths to cast their votes including President of India Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and India’s Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha is being held in seven phases. The seventh and final round of polling will be held on June 1 across 57 constituencies, including Kolkata.
The vote counting is scheduled for June 4.
