Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacked the opposition on Tuesday and said that the INDIAlliance is planning to loot the country by dividing the people on the basis of caste and religion. Adityanath was addressing an election rally in Gaisdi where he was seeking votes for the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Shravasti Saket Mishra and the party’s nominee for by-elections in Gaisdi Lok Sabha seat Shailesh Kumar Singh Shailu.

He said the BJP is serving the public under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they do not practice discrimination and are working with the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. At the same time, INDI alliance wants to loot the country by dividing the country’s people on the basis of caste and religion, which BJP will not allow to happen.

The chief minister said that people have come to know about the intentions of the INDIA bloc, as a result they are saying together in one voice — Phir ek baar Modi sarkaar, ab ki baar, 400 paar. The UP CM said the people are replying to them (INDIA bloc) and saying that they will bring back those who have brought Ram.

He added that the INDIA Bloc is making malicious attempts to encroach on the rights of people in Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Backward Castes categories. He said everyone should remain cautious and all alert about the conspiracy being hatched by INDIAlliance. Adityanath sharpened his attack on the INDIA bloc and said the opposition parties are using all kinds of tricks to come back to power.

Adityanath pointed out that the deeds of the opposition parties are not hidden from the public. They are planning to conduct a survey of the property of people for the removal of poverty from the country. He said everyone should remain cautious and alert as the opposition parties are planning to implement inheritance tax which is similar to Jaziya imposed by Mughal emperor Aurengzeb.

BJP on Monday issued a show cause notice to former Union Minister Jayant Sinha for not participating in the Lok Sabha elections after Manish Jaiswal was declared candidate from the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat and thereby maligning the party’s image. Jayant Sinha is the son of former union finance minister Yashwant Sinha and is the sitting MP of Hazaribag. Sinha did not participate in elections in Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat.

Sinha has been accused of not paying attention to his organizational duties and did not participate in the election campaigning since Jaiswal’s candidacy was announced. His absence during elections in Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat on Monday has further intensified the situation in BJP. The notice issued on Monday requires Sinha to provide an explanation within 2 days, as per instructions from state BJP president and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi. Sahu said further actions will depend on Sinha’s response.

Attempts were made to reach him for his comments but Sinha remained unavailable and did not respond to calls and messages. Earlier Sinha took to X and expressed his desire to shift his focus towards combating global climatic change and highlighting his attention to continue working with economic and governance issues.

In the past Hazaribag has been represented by both Yashwant Sinha and his son Jayant Sinha and holds substantial political weight in Jharkhand. In the 2019 general elections Jayant Sinha was victorious by a margin of 4.79 lakh votes and defeated Congress’s Gopal Sahu. Jaiswal whose nomination sparked controversy had earlier contested elections from the Mandu assembly seat on a JVM ticket.

 Earlier Jayant Sinha has served on India’s council of ministers from 2014 and 2019, and also as the minister of state for finance and minister of state of civil aviation. The BJP MP is also known for helping launch the UDAN regional connectivity scheme that increased the number of operational airports in India by 50% in 3 years.

A voter turnout of 56.68 % was recorded in phase 5 till 5 pm as per the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout App, with the highest voting percentage in West Bengal (73 %) and the lowest in Maharashtra (48.66 %). Lok Sabha elections are taking place in 49 constituencies across 8 states and Union Territories in the 5th phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Voter turnout of 56.68% was recorded till 5pm. The breakup is as follows: J&K: 54.21%, Bihar: 52.35%, Ladakh: 67.15%, Jharkhand: 61.90%, Maharashtra: 48.66%, UP: 55.80%, Odisha: 60.55% and West Bengal: 73%. The fate of 4 Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be decided in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Former UP CM Mayawati, BJP’s Rae Bareli candidate Dinesh Pratep Singh, Smriti Irani were among the early voters today who cast their vote in the morning.

 The Lucknow East Lok Sabha seat will also hold a bypoll on the same day. The Lok Sabha seats which are participating in this phase include Rae Bareli, Mohanlalganj, Jalaun (SC), Amethi, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Banda, Kaushambi (SC), Fatehpur, Faizabad, Barabanki (SC), Gonda  and Kaisarganj. The candidates also include and minister of state of consumer affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur) and minister of state for housing and urban affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj). Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat which was previously held by his mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

 The total number of voters expected to cast their vote in this phase is over 2.68 crore voters, with 144 candidates looking for their support. 11 BJP incumbent Lok Sabha MPs are contesting in this phase, while nominating new candidates in Kaisarganj and Barabanki (SC) Lok Sabha seats.