Rajnath Singh, Mayawati, Smriti Irani, and Other Prominent Leaders Cast Their Votes

Voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is currently underway. Among those who have cast their votes are Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Smriti Irani, and former Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati. Rajnath Singh voted in his parliamentary constituency of Lucknow, while Smriti Irani cast her vote in her constituency of Amethi. After voting, Rajnath Singh spoke to the media, urging voters to come out and vote with their families. Rajnath Singh is contesting the election from the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat for the third time as a BJP candidate.

In Amethi, Union Minister Smriti Irani is running again on a BJP ticket. She faces KL Sharma, a close associate of the Gandhi family, who has been fielded by the Congress. In Lucknow, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is up against Ravidas Mehrotra, the SP MLA from Lucknow Central.

Other Key Candidates in the Fifth Phase

In this phase, other notable candidates include Union Minister Kaushal Kishore from Mohanlalganj, Union Minister Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma from Jalaun, Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti from Fatehpur, and MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad.

Voting on 49 Lok Sabha Seats, Including 14 in UP

Today, May 20, voting is taking place for 49 Lok Sabha seats across the country, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh. In UP, polling is being conducted in Mohanlalganj (reserved), Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Jalaun (reserved), Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (reserved), Barabanki (reserved), Faizabad, Kaiserganj, and Gonda.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad in Kerala and is also in the fray from the Nehru-Gandhi stronghold of Raebareli. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, has represented the Raebareli seat since 2004. The BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh against Rahul Gandhi in Raebareli.