A man waits to vote at a polling station during the seventh and last phase of India’s general election in Firozpur district, Punjab. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]Published On 1 Jun 20241 Jun 2024
Voters in India have braved soaring temperatures to cast their ballots in the last phase of the country’s staggered elections to decide the fate of 904 candidates, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The polls on Saturday conclude the largest electoral exercise in the world that kicked off on April 19, with some 969 million people eligible to vote.
Fifty-seven seats across eight states and federally-run territories (union territories) are up for grabs in the seventh phase as voters elect members of parliament to the 18th Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament.
The previous six phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20 and May 25 – recorded turnouts of 66.1, 66.7, 61, 67.3, 60.5 and 63.4 percent, respectively.
Results are expected on June 4.
Polling officials check election materials inside an indoor stadium ahead of the seventh and last phase of India’s general election, in Kolkata. [Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters]Election officials check Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) kept at a strong room inside a distribution centre in Amritsar. [Narinder Nanu/AFP]Monks stand in a queue to cast their ballot at a polling station in Kolkata. [Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP]A polling official looks at his device for confirmation as a voter casts her vote in Dharamshala. [Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo]Voters queue up at a polling station in Chandigarh. [AFP]Polling officer Krishanchand Sharma crosses a river on a makeshift bridge made of stones and tree logs during a trek in the mountains to reach a remote polling station in Almi, Chamba, in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]A woman leaves after voting at a remote polling station in Almi. [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]Police personnel deputed on election duty sprinkles tap water on her face on a hot summer day in Patna. [Sachin Kumar/AFP]People stand in queues to cast their votes in Varanasi. [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]A volunteer prepares an oral rehydration solution for a child as her parents wait to cast their vote on a hot day near Amritsar. [Prabhjot Gill/AP Photo]Voters show their indelible ink marks after casting their ballots at a polling station in the Deorighat village on the outskirts of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh state. [AFP]Voters leave after casting their ballot at a polling station in Kolkata. [Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP]
