52.6 pc voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in phase 4 Lok Sabha polls

West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout of 66.05 per cent and the lowest was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir, where it was 29.93 per cent.

Voting percentages in other states participating in the fourth phase polling till 3 pm are Andhra Pradesh - 55.49 per cent, Bihar - 45.23 per cent, Jharkhand - 56.42 per cent, Madhya Pradesh - 59.63 per cent, Maharashtra - 42.35 per cent, Odisha - 52.91 per cent, Telangana - 52.34 per cent and Uttar Pradesh - 48.41 per cent, as per the ECI.

The voting across the 96 parliamentary constituencies started at 7 am on Monday. The polling for 175 seats in the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly and 28 seats out of the 147 seats in the Odisha legislative assembly also started simultaneously with that of the general elections.

According to the ECI data, the voter turnout for the assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh was recorded at 55.49 per cent till 3 pm. While the first phase of the four-phase assembly polls in Odisha witnessed a voter turnout of 52.91 per cent till 3.

Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats voting today, 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.

As many as 1,717 candidates are in the fray across the 96 Lok Sabha seats voting today. Prominent figures contesting today's poll battle included AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, JDU's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), TMC leaders Mahua Moitra, Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan, Union Minister Arjun Munda, BJP leaders Giriraj Singh, Madhavi Latha, and Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief YS Sharmila, among others.

The remaining three phases of voting will be held on May 20, May 25 and June 1. The results of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4. (ANI)