An Indian Muslim woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Bhopal. GAGAN NAYAR/AFP/Getty Images Polling is coming to a close in India's penultimate phase of elections, where 100 million people were eligible to cast their votes and candidates battled it out across key constituencies in the north and northeast of the country, including the capital New Delhi. Next Sunday, May 19, will mark the final and seventh phase of this endurance test in democracy. Voting will take place in eight states across 59 constituencies, with the entire state of Punjab voting for the first and only time. After more than five weeks, polling in the world's biggest elections will be over and the people will have chosen India's next prime minister. All will be revealed on May 23, when the Election Commission announces the official results.<doc-sep>A select list of stories to read before you start your day. The sixth and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held in 59 constituencies in six States and Delhi on Sunday. Elections will be held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 seats in Haryana, eight constituencies each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, seven seats in Delhi and four in Jharkhand. Over 10.17 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to choose among the 979 candidates in fray. The Election Commission has set up over 1.13 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls. Moments before he left the Goalpara Central Jail in western Assam on May 7, Rehat Ali had promised the jail superintendent he would not say anything bad about his “home” of more than three years. “How can I forget the number of days I was deemed a Bangladeshi? They killed the Indian in me every day for 1,197 days before I walked to freedom,” he said. Two militants are believed killed in an ongoing encounter between security forces and a group of militants in south Kashmir's Shopian on Sunday. An official said encounter broke out during a predawn operation of security forces at Hend Satioora village. "Militants opened fire when security forces zeroed in on their hiding place. Two to three militants were hiding in the area. We believe two militants were killed but the bodies are yet to be recovered," said the official. Bhojpuri film personality Dinesh Lal Yadav aka Nirahua is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate against Samjawadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in this seat that votes on Sunday. The contest here illustrates the BJP’s core strategy for Uttar Pradesh: assimilate or isolate the Yadav community, which has become the fulcrum of a social compact challenging its pre-eminence in Uttar Pradesh under the SP’s alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The initial estimate of Cyclone Fani’s damage to standing crops in Odisha has been pegged at ₹150 crore, but the State Agriculture Department warns that the destruction of storage facilities and harvested crops stored in the open could further spike those losses. Low insurance penetration could also exacerbate farmers’ losses, especially in the poultry sector. The new genus and species of the natricine — predominantly aquatic — that took a seven-member team of herpetologists 12 years to document, has been named Smithophis atemporalis after eminent British herpetologist Malcolm Arthur Smith for his immense contribution to Indian herpetology. Ola Electric is undertaking several pilot programmes including charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying two-and three-wheeler electric vehicles. Will Ola Electric’s initiative provide the spark to meet India’s ambitious goal of having 30% electric vehicles by 2030? Although the Australian Navy is, at present, “hanging off” COMCASA — India’s secure communications agreement with the U.S. — Australia and India are “moving forward” toward a classified-level communications environment, a senior Australian Navy spokesperson said. "This kind of issue, terrorism issue takes time… India may judge that action is not being taken quickly enough, but the journey has been started. There are a series of actions the Pakistanis need to take. They know they need to take them, and we are talking to them about the detail. But here I would urge that they be given some space. The fact that it doesn’t happen on the turn of a dime is not a surprise, but what this government is saying, is worth working with." Both teams know how to finish at the right end of a result. In fact, they are serial winners in the IPL. Yet, one of them has to lose the big final here on Sunday. Their record glitters. Both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have triumphed in three IPL editions each. The title clash here will put one team in front with four.<doc-sep>
Cricketer Virat Kohli stands in a queue to cast his vote at a polling station in Gurgaon Cricketer Virat Kohli was among the early voters who turned up at a polling booth in Gurgaon this morning. In a t-shirt, the cricketer was seen standing in a long queue waiting for his turn to vote. He did not speak to anyone as he walked out after casting his vote, though he signed some autographs after some fans requested him for it. Before he left, a polling booth volunteer asked him if he could stand behind a cutout installed at the booth for a voter awareness programme for a photo, which he agreed. The cricketer then showed his inked finger as fans took his photos and selfies with him. Over 22 lakh voters will decide the fate of 24 candidates as Gurgaon, along with nine other Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana, vote today in the sixth phase of the national election. Cricketer Virat Kohli posted this photo after casting his vote. Voting is being held at 1,194 polling stations across nine assembly segments in three districts - Gurgaon, Rewari and Nuh. The contest in this city near Delhi is mainly between BJP parliamentarian Rao Inderjit Singh and Captain Ajay Singh Yadav of the Congress. Also in the contest are Mehmood Khan of the Jannayak Janata Party-Aam Aadmi Party alliance and Virender Rana of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). In 2014, Rao Inderjit Singh defeated Zakir Hussain of the INLD by a huge margin of 2,74,722 votes. The Union Minister of State had then promised to provide rail connection and water canal to Haryana's most backward district, Nuh. But none of the promises got fulfilled, says the opposition.