Lok Sabha Elections - 5th phase: As it happened

37.46% voting recorded in Rajasthan, 51% in Odisha, 33% in Bihar and 30% in MP till 2 pm.

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar 7:15 pm: As per Election Commission, the voting turnout in Uttar Pradesh was 62.52, in Bengal over 80 percent voters cast their ballot, Manipur saw over 70 percent turnout, 70 percent in Odisha, 63.25 percent in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh recorded 63.44 percent voting, with peaceful polling turnout was 69 percent in Jammu and Kashmir, 54.41 percent in Madhya Pradesh, while 62 percent votes were cast in Jharkhand till 7 pm. Read: Over half vote for four West Bengal seats 7:10 pm: Around 62 percent balloting was recorded for 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh till 7 pm. 5:40 pm: Over 80 per cent votes were cast in Inner Manipur Parliamentary constituency till 4 pm, election office sources said. Read: Lok Sabha polls: Over 80% voting in Inner Manipur 4:35 pm: With polling was being held in Ranchi, Giridih, Jamshedpur, Singhbhum (ST), Khunti (ST) and Hazaribagh seats under strict security and helicopter surveillance, Around 55 per cent of the electorate voted till 3 pm today in the second phase of polling for six Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand. Read: 62 per cent polling in Jharkhand 3:55 pm: Over 40 percent of total 3.48 crore electors cast their votes in the first phase Lok Sabha polls being held on 20 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan till 3 pm. Read: Voting percentage breaks previous records in Rajasthan 3:45 pm: About 40 percent voting took place till 2 pm in the three constituencies of Chhattisgarh, an official said. Read: 65% voter turnout in three Naxal-hit seats in Chhattisgarh 3:35 pm: Nearly 40 percent voting was recorded by afternoon in the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, which went to polls Thursday, officials said. While balloting was brisk in some constituencies, a few seats, including Bhind, saw sluggish polling. Read: Moderate turnout in Madhya Pradesh; poll boycott in some villages 3:30 pm: Over 40 percent balloting was recorded for 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh till 1 pm. Read: Uttar Pradesh records over 62% voting in second phase 3:25 pm: An average 31.43 percent polling was recorded till 1 pm in the 19 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra where second phase of polling is being held today. Read: Final turnout of 61.7 percent in Maharashtra 3:15 pm: Around 70 percent electors have cast their votes in West Bengal till 3 pm for four constituencies in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. 2:40 pm: Around 51% voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm as voting for the simultaneous second and last phase election to 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly constituencies began in Odisha on Thursday. Read: 70 percent polling in 11 Lok Sabha, 77 Assembly seats of Odisha 2:25 pm:37.46% voting recorded in Rajasthan, 44% in Odisha, 33% in Bihar and 30% in MP till 2 pm. 2.15 pm: Around 26 per cent of the 4.62 crore electorate have exercised their franchise till around noon, officials said, adding, polling had been peaceful so far. Read:65 percent voter turnout in Karnataka polls 1.45 pm: An estimated 27.07 per cent voters today exercised their franchise till 11 am in the second phase of polling in six Lok Sabha seats of Jharkhand where Maoists injured five persons, including four CRPF jawans and blew up railway lines. 1.15 pm: Over 30 percent of total 3.48 crore electors cast their votes in the first phase Lok Sabha polls being held on 20 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan till 1200 hrs. 1.05 pm: An average of 17.84 % voter turnout was recorded till 11 am in the 19 Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra, where polling is being held on Thursday in the second phase of election in the state. 12.45 pm : About 30% of the 16.61 crore electorate across 12 states covering 121 constituencies in the fifth phase the biggest of the nine-phased Lok Sabha polls have cast their vote till noon. 12:25 pm: Jharkhand witnessed around 14 percent polling in the first two hours for six Lok Sabha seats amid a boycott call given by Maoist guerrillas. 12:20 pm: Some voters turned up early to cast their ballot for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh Thursday, officials said. The state recorded 11.46 percent voting during the morning hours. 12:08 pm: 22% voting in Bihar till 11 am. 11:55 am: Over 27% polling was recorded till 11 am in Uttar Pradesh, where polling is going on on 11 seats. Voting percentages: Nagina 28.25%, Moradabad 24%, Rampur 28.84%, Sambhal 25%, Amroha 26.20%, Badaun 24.4%, Aonla 24.4%, Bareilly 26.6%, Pilibhit 23.60%, Shahjahanpur 21.83% and Kheri 24.4%. 11:50 am:Nearly 29% of the 60,33,310 voters in four parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal cast their votes till 10 am. 11:30 am:Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh casts vote in Rajnandgaon. His son Abhishek is the party candidate from the constituency. 11:20 am:An estimated 12.74 percent voters exercised their franchise till 9 am in the second phase of polling for six Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand. 10:10 am Odisha, where simultaneous polls are held for the Lok Sabha and state assembly, witnessed a slow start with only 15% of the electorate voting till 10 am. 10 am: Over 13% voting in Bihar till 10 am. Patna Sahib, Patliputra and Arrah are among the seven seats where voting is being held today. 9:35 am: 10% of the 8.53 lakh voters cast their votes to elect their representative from Inner Manipur Parliamentary seat till 9 am. 1256 polling stations have been set up in the four valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishenpur.

9:30 am:Voting began on a moderate to brisk note this morning in the single-phase elections for 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka amid tight security. In the initial two hours, the voting percentage across the state hovered around 10 per cent, officials said, adding, polling had been peaceful so far. Read: Confident that people will vote me to power: Ananth Kumar 9:20 am:Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Guna constituency, said on Thursday that there is no Narendra Modi wave in the country and exuded confidence that his Congress party will win the crucial General Elections. Read: Believe in positive campaigning, there is no Modi wave: Jyotiraditya Scindia 9:56 am:Strong start in Uttar Pradesh: 13% Rampur, 12% Moradabad, 10% Pilibhit. 9:50 am:Over 12% voting recorded till 9 am in Maharashtra. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar`s daughter and Baramati candidate Supriya Sule says that she is confident of the win but not overconfident.

Tainted former CM Ashok Chavan says that he won`t comment on any issue today.

9:45 am: First trends: 13.58% voting in Rajasthan, 11.71% voting in UP till 9am 9:40 am: Unfortunate that BJP is now resorting to caste politics in trying to defeat me here in Barmer, says Jaswant Singh. Voting turnout in Barmer 13.39% till 9 am. Read: BJP trying to defeat me by resorting to caste politics: Jaswant Singh 9:30 am: Sachin Pilot`s name missing from voter list in Ajmer, claim reports. He is the sitting MP from the prestigious seat in Rajasthan. Read: Confident of Congress` victory: Sachin Pilot 9:10 am:Ashok Chavan, Misa Bharti and Veerappa Moily among early voters in Nanded, Patliputra, Chikkaballapur respectively 9 am: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, BJP candidate from Jaipur Rural constituency casts his vote, expresses confidence that the party will win all 25 seats in Rajasthan. 8:45 am: Narendra Modi urges voters to vote in record numbers.

Polling for 121 Lok Sabha seats, 77 seats for Odisha Assembly & 2 by-elections in WB underway. Urging voters to vote in record numbers.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2014

8:35 am: BJP candidate Ram Kripal yadav votes in Patliputra 7:45 am Among the first leaders to cast their votes was BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa, who exercised his franchise in Shimoga of Karnataka.

7:30 am NCP`s Supriya Sule casts her vote in Baramati.

7:20 am Over 11 crore voters will choose their MPs in Bihar`s seven constituencies today.

Bihar will vote in the second of the six-phase election, for which security is tight in areas falling under Maoist-belt.

A total of 117 candidates are contesting from Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Munger, Ara and Buxar Lok Sabha constituencies.  7:10 am Over 16 crore voters from 12 states will elect MPs from among 1761 candidates in the fray for 121 constituencies.

7:00 am Voters from a dozen of states will today exercise their franchise to elect their MPs as a total of 121 constituncies are set to go to the polls in the fifth and the biggest phase of General Elections 2014. 

7:00 am Voters from a dozen of states will today exercise their franchise to elect their MPs as a total of 121 constituncies are set to go to the polls in the fifth and the biggest phase of General Elections 2014.  Karnataka (28/28): The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is engaged in a close fight with the Congress to reclaim its lost bastion in the south – Karnataka. A number of heavyweights from both the parties are in fray from the 28 seats are at stake.

The Congress` hopes rests on its stellar performance in last year`s assembly elections and the popularity of the Siddaramaih government, even as it worries about the anti-incumbency against its government that ruled at the Centre for 10 years.

Constituencies: Bangalore Rural, Bangalore north, Bangalore central, Bangalore south, Mysore, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Shimoga, Chikkodi, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davengere, Udupi Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Chamrajnagar, Chikballapur, Kolar

Key candidates: BS Yeddyurappa (BJP) - Shimoga, Nandan Nilekani (Congress) – Bangalore South, Ananth Kumar (BJP) – Bangalore South, Sadananda Gowda (BJP) – Bangalore North, V Balakrishnan (AAP) – Bangalore central, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress) – Gulbarga, Remya (Congress) – Mandya, B Sriramulu (BJP) – Bellary, Mahima Patel (JDS) – Davangere, Dharam Singh (Congress) – Bidar, Veerappa Moily (Congress) – Chikballapur, HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) – Chikballapur, Deve Gowda (JDS) - Hassan

Maharashtra (19/48): After the relatively low polling percentage (62%) recorded in the first phase of polls in the state on April 10, both Congress-NCP combine and BJP-Shiv Sena are hoping for a strong turnout in 19 constituencies that vote today. Spread across the Marathwada, Konkan and Pune regions, the seats going to polls today are central to the ruling combine strategy to ward off the stiff challenge stitched together by the BJP-Shiv Sena. Constituencies: Pune, Baramati, Solapur, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Maval, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shidi, Osmanabad, Latur, Beed, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Hatkanangle

Key candidates: Supriya Sule (NCP) – Baramati, Vishwajeet Kadam (Congress) – Pune, Ashok Chavan (Congress) – Nanded, Gopinath Munde (BJP) – Beed, Nilesh Rane (Congress) – Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Rajiv Satav (Congress) - Hingloi Rajasthan Constituencies::Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Ajmer, Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, Jhalawar-Baran Key candidates:  Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (BJP) - Jaipur Rural, CP Joshi (Cong)-- Jaipur Rural, Ajit Jogi (Cong) – Mahasamund, Mahesh Joshi (Cong) – Jaipur, Ram Charan Bohra (BJP)- Jaipur, Sachin Pilot (Cong) – Ajmer, Jyoti Mirdha (Cong) – Nagaur, Smt Munni Devi Godara (Cong) – Pali , Santosh Ahlawat(BJP) - Jhunjhunu, Om Birla (BJP) – Kota, Bahadur Singh Koli (BJP) -Bharatpur, Dushyant Singh (BJP)- Jhalawar, Arjun Meghwal (BJP)-Bikaner, Deoji Bhai Patel(BJP) – Jalore, Rahul Kaswa(BJP) –Churu, Swami Sumedanand(BJP) –, Chhotu Ram Chaudhary(BJP) –Nagaur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (BJP) – Jodhpur, Arjun Meena(BJP) – Udaipur, Manshankar Ninama (BJP) – Banswara, Chandra Prakash Joshi from Chittorgarh, Hari Om Singh Rathore from (BJP) –Rajsamand, Nihal Chand (BJP) – Ganganagar, Subhash Baheria(BJP) –Bhilwara. Bihar (7/40): It is a battle of prestige for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as he desperately tries to retain the influence that got him to the chair two times in a row. High profile contests like the one in Patliputa may ensure that the electorate votes in number after a low - 53% - in the first phase on April 10.

Constituencies: Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Munger, Nalanda, Buxar, Jahanabad

Key candidates: Shatrughan Sinha (BJP) – Patna Sahib, Misa Yadav (RJD) – Patliputra, Ramkripal Yadav ( BJP) – Patliputra, RK Singh (BJP) – Arrah, Kaushlendra Kumar (JDU) - Nalanda

Uttar Pradesh (9/80): After polls in 10 constituencies of western UP saw 65% voting on April 10, other important seats in the region are voting today. Constituencies: Pilibhit, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Amroha, Badaun, Aonla, Bareilly

Key candidates: Maneka Gandhi (BJP) – Pilibhit, Kazim Ali Khan (Congress) – Rampur, Begum Noor Bano (Congress) - Moradabad, Haji Yakub Quereshi (BSP) – Moradabad Madhya Pradesh (10/29): On stake is the prestige of a Maharaja as Guna votes will decide whether to re-elect Jyotiraditya Scindia as its voice in the Parliament. Other key contest would be Gwalior where BJP state president is contesting from.

Constituencies: Guna,Gwalior, Morena, Bhind, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Bhopal, Rajgarh Key candidates: Guna – Jotiraditya Scindia (Congress) – Guna, Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya (BJP) – Guna, Narendra Singh Tomar (BJP) – Gwalior, Alok Sanjar (BJP) - Bhopal, PC Sharma (Congress) – Bhopal Read: Shivraj Singh Chouhan criticises attempts to `communalise` elections

Chhattisgarh (3/11): The tribal state is witnessing to two high-voltage fights in Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund. Abhishek Singh is the son of Chief Minister Raman Singh while Ajit Jogi, who is trying his luck from Mahasamund is a former CM.

Constituencies: Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker

Key candidates: Abhishek Singh (BJP) – Rajnandgaon, Ajit Jogi (Congress) – Mahasamund

J&K (1/6): Union minister and Congress heavyweight Gulam Nabi Azad is facing a tough battle against Jitender Singh of the BJP. For Azad it is not just about winning the seat again but more about retaining his hold on the party in the state, a loss would hit him hard. The first phase of polls in state on April 10 had seen 68% voting in Jammu.

Constituency: Udhampur

Key candidates: Ghulam Nabi Azad (Congress), Jitender Singh (BJP)

Jharkhand (6/41):

Constituencies: Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Jamshedpur, Singhbum, Khunti

Key candidates: Jayant Sinha (BJP) – Hazaribagh, Sudesh Mahto (AJSU) - Ranchi, Subodh Kant Sahai (Congress) – Ranchi, Dr Ajoy Kumar (JVM) – Jamshedpur, Bidyut Baran Mahto (BJP) - Jamshedpur

Manipur (1/2): Inner Manipur

Dr Gurumayum Tonsana (MDPF), Th Meinya (Congress), RK Ranjan (BJP) Odisha (11/21): Puri, Bhubneswar, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Cuttak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur,

Key candidates: Srikant Jena (Congress) – Balasore, Pinaki Mishra (BJD) – Puri, Sucharita Mohanty (Congress) – Puri, Bhartruhari Mahatab (BJD) – Cuttak, Aparajita Mohanty (Congress) – Cuttak Aslo Read: Naveen Babu`s BJD set to sweep Lok Sabha polls in Odisha

West Bengal (4/42): Coochbehar, Alipurduars, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling

Key candidates: Renuka Sinha (TMC) – Coochbehar, Baichung Bhutia (TMC) – Darjeeling, SS Ahluwalia (BJP) – Darjeeling