Voting is underway in sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls

Voting is taking place across 58 seats stretched across six states and two Union Territories including the national capital Delhi.

11.13 crore people are expected to exercise their franchise in this phase and decide the fates of  889 candidates across 1.14 lakh polling stations.

Among those in the fray for the BJP are Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Maneka Gandhi, former Hayana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, party spokesman Sambit Patra, late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj and actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari.

The star Congress candidates include Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar and Kanhaiya Kumar. The heavyweight list also includes Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.

The states voting in this phase are Bihar (8 seats), Haryana (all 10 seats), Jharkhand (4 seats),, Odisha (6 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats) and West Bengal (8 seats).

Completing the list are the two Union Territories -- Delhi (all 7 seats) and Jammu and Kashmir (one seat) will also vote.

The election to the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, deferred from May 7 following logistical, communication, and natural,l barriers related to connectivity, is being held in this phase.

The most riveting contest will be for the national capital Delhi, where the BJP swept all seven seats in 2019. This time, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party is leaving no stone unturned with its "Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se" campaign. AAP is contesting four seats in the national capital, its ally Congress three.

This phase will be crucial for NDA, which has to keep its score intact to meet its "400-plus" target. In 2019, the BJP alone won 40 of the 58 constituencies going to polls in this phase in the Hindi heartland and the east. Its NDA allies won five more seats.

The parties of the Opposition INDIA bloc -- Trinamool Congress, National Conference and Samajwadi Party – had won five seats, the Congress none.

The last phase i.e. seventh phase of polling will be held on June 1 with counting of votes scheduled on June 4. Polling for 25 States/UTs and 428 constituencies was completed in the first five phases of the general elections.