Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 20 (ANI): Union Minister and BJP's candidate from Fatehpur Lok Sabha constituency, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti casts her vote at a polling station in Hamirpur.
After casting her vote, she appealed to people to participate in the "national festival" and vote for the conservation of the spiritual and religious heritage of the country.
"Voting is important in a democracy. This is a national festival and people have the right to choose their representative. I appeal to people to come out and vote for the development of the nation and also for the conservation of the spiritual and religious heritage of the country...'Jo Ram ko laaye hain. hum unko laayenge' ," said Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
Niranjan Jyoti is contesting against SP's Naresh Uttam Patel from Fatepur and looking to score a hattrick on the seat.
Polling is underway today for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the fifth round of the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. These include Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Kaiserganj, and Gonda.
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party's National General Secretary Satish Chandra Misra cast his vote in Lucknow and appealed to people to come out of their houses and exercise their voting rights given by Babasaheb Ambedkar to protect the constitution.
"All people should come out and vote today if you want to protect the constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar... We are contesting well and we hope that the result will be good as well... SP and Congress are working as 'B team' (of the BJP) and not us. They are trying to harm the BSP to benefit the BJP," said Satish Chandra Misra.
Ahead of this, BSP chief and former Chief Minister Mayawati cast her vote in Lucknow and urged all political parties to prioritise the issues of development and the welfare of the people while interacting with the media.
She was among the first political leaders to cast her vote in Lucknow. Mayawati reached the polling booth at 7 a.m.
"I appeal to everyone to come out and cast their votes...I request all political parties to prioritise the issues of development and the welfare of the people. Whether it is the BJP or Congress, all the parties say that they are forming the Govt but everything will be clear when the results are announced," said Mayawati.
On being asked if there will be a change in this election, former Uttar Pradesh CM and BSP chief Mayawati said, "I am hopeful that there will be a change (in power) this time. I can sense that the public is silent and they are seeing all of this..."
The BSP has not aligned with any party for these elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Polls, the party had joined hands with the Samajwadi party.
The voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by the closing time still allowed to vote.
As per the ECI, over 8.95 crore voters, including 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females, and 5409 third-gender electors, will decide the fate of 695 candidates in the fifth phase of voting. (ANI)
