A whopping 695 candidates are set to contest the Lok Sabha Elections in Phase 5 across 8 States and Union Territories (UTs). The Election Commission revealed that a total of 1586 nominations were filed for the 49 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) up for grabs in Phase 5. After rigorous scrutiny, 749 nominations were deemed valid, paving the way for a competitive electoral battle.
Among the states, Maharashtra leads the tally with 512 nomination forms filed for its 13 PCs, closely followed by Uttar Pradesh with 466 nominations across 14 PCs. Jharkhand’s 4-Chatra Parliamentary Constituency received the maximum nominations at 69, with Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh following closely with 67 nominations.
Breaking down the numbers by state, Bihar has 82 valid candidates out of 164 nominations, while Jammu & Kashmir has 23 candidates vying for the lone PC in Phase 5. In Jharkhand, 57 candidates remain in the fray out of 148 nominations, and Ladakh has 3 contestants after scrutiny of 8 nominations.
In addition, Odisha has 41 valid candidates out of 87 nominations, and West Bengal has 93 contenders out of 163 nominations. Uttar Pradesh, with the highest number of PCs in Phase 5, will see 144 candidates contesting after scrutiny of 466 nominations.
Overall, the average number of contesting candidates per PC for the 5th Phase stands at 14, indicating a keenly contested electoral battle across the participating states and UTs.