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>India’s 2019 parliamentary election is likely to see the highest voter turnout ever. After four phases, the voting percentage in the country stood at 67%, almost comparable to 67.6% in the entire 2014 election. Going by the current numbers, a marginal 1% increase in the voter turnout could see India witness highest-ever voter turnout in its election history, according to a May 02 report released by the economic research department of the State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender. The report, however, pointed out that in the delayed elections of 1985 in two states, Assam and Punjab, voter turnout stood at 72%. The average turnout for 1984 and 1985, stood at 67.9%. In fact, going by the current trends, the 2019 edition is proving to be unique in many respects. States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, and Karnataka have witnessed the highest ever voter turnouts since 1962. Chhattisgarh has seen a 15-year and Maharashtra a 30-year high. This proves that extensive and continuous campaigns by multiple stakeholders such as the election commission, government, and the civil society at large have succeeded. Encouragingly, the report said, women voters—previously missing from electoral process mostly due to various socio-economic reasons—have come out in huge numbers this time. This could be attributed to schemes like Jan-Dhan Mudra (aimed at extending micro-finance to small businesses) and Ujjwala (providing women access to clean source of energy for cooking). What’s also interesting is that young voters, a segment that is historically seen as a reluctant group, are also out in higher numbers. There is a 3.3% increase in voter turnout in states like Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh (partial), and Rajasthan (partial) where the share of younger voters (aged between 18-25) is more than the national average, according to SBI report. Yet, the elderly, too, are making their presence felt strongly. In Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala, where the elderly population is higher than the national average, voter turnout is up 1.8%, according to the SBI report. The states are also voting independent of their socio-economic condition. The SBI report noted that western India, home to states with relatively less poverty, is seeing better voter turnout in 2019 vis-à-vis 2014. Southern Indian states also have lower levels of deprivation, and with the exception of Tamil Nadu, they have improved their voter turnout. For instance, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have registered an improvement in voter turnout to the tune of 5.2% and 3.8% respectively from 2014. In comparison, the performance has fallen for northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Sikkim, and Nagaland, all spread across the spectrum from low-to-high poverty levels. It has increased for Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, and Mizoram, though. In Odisha and Chhattisgarh, two states high up on the multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) scale, turnout has fallen in the first and increased in the second. Read Quartz’s coverage of the 2019 Indian general election here.<doc-sep>Amid reports of EVM glitches, Delhi recorded 34.48 per cent polling till 1 pm on Sunday, officials said. Voting began at 7 am and is scheduled to go on till 6 pm. President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were among those who cast their vote. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, Union minister and BJP's Chandni Chowk candidate Harsh Vardhan, ex-cricketer and BJP's East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir, Congress's New Delhi and Northeast Delhi candidates Ajay Maken and Sheila Dikshit, respectively, also cast their vote. Former Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty, aged 84, cast his vote at a polling booth in Mayur Vihar area. Krishnamurty, who was the election commissioner between 1993 and 1999, voted with his wife G Padma Murty and son G Venkatesh Rao, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. "India is the largest and most successful practising democracy in the world. Elections are festivals of democracy. In India, there is 0 per cent possibility of tampering with electronic voting machines," said Krishnamurty after casting his vote. New Delhi, home to many VVIP voters, recorded 28.73 per cent voting till 11 am while Northeast Delhi and Northwest Delhi recorded over 36 per cent polling. The voting percentage for the rest of the five seats was: East Delhi (34.40 per cent), West Delhi (35.06 per cent), South Delhi (34.84 per cent) and Chandni Chowk (33.10 per cent). Posh locality and up-market areas are seeing fewer turnout, EC officials said, adding the number could increase post 4 pm. Polling started late on a few booths while there were reports of EVM malfunctioning in different parts of the city. A number of people complained they could not vote as their names were not on the voters' list. Over 1.43 crore people in Delhi are eligible to vote in this election, which will decide the fate of 164 candidates, of which 18 are women. There are 43 independent candidates. Sita, 23, a B.Ed. student, a resident of Nizamuddin East area, said, "I voted, with the issue of improvement in education on my mind. Education can bring about all-round change in the lives of people." Prerna Kapoor, 20, a first-time voter, and a resident of Kalkaji, said, "I feel responsible, and empowered after having become a part of the electoral process. Everybody should vote. I voted keeping in mind the bigger picture for the country. Problem of terrorism, India's economy and health are major issues for me." Live updates from Phase VI of Lok Sabha elections 2019<doc-sep>
Election 2019: It is expected that the poll percentage may improve towards the evening The national capital territory of Delhi, where seven Lok Sabha seats are at stake, logged just 44.90 per cent polling till 3 pm. According to the Election Commission of India''s (ECI) Voter Turnout App, the voting percentage at 3 pm remained low with only 44.90 per cent voters having cast their votes. The initial enthusiasm among voters of the national capital slightly dwindled with the increasing temperature and blazing sun, while leaders cutting across party lines appealed to the voters to exercise their right to franchise. The voter turnout in Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency at 3 pm was 44.90 per cent, in North East Delhi it is 47.36 per cent, in East Delhi 46.70 per cent, in New Delhi 42.86 per cent. Similarly, for North West Delhi and West Delhi, the voter turnout at 3 pm was 45.51 per cent and 44.33 per cent respectively. The lowest turnout was recorded in South Delhi parliamentary constituency with 42.51 per cent voters having their democratic franchise. It is expected that the poll percentage may improve towards the evening with more people coming out to cast their ballot. While the polling percentage reflected a less than enough enthusiasm among Delhi voters, prominent leaders having their names in Delhi voter slip came out in large numbers to cast their vote. President Ram Nath Kovind, along with the First Lady Savita Kovind, went to polling booth number 10 in Rashtrapati Bhavan premises this morning to exercise their votes. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi voted at a booth in Nirman Bhavan, while Union Minister and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj showed-off her inked-finger at a polling station in Aurangzeb Lane. Political heavyweights like Congress president Rahul Gandhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Sheila Dikshit, Ajay Maken, and Gautam Gambhir also cast their votes. Congress general secretary for UP East Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied by her husband Robert cast her vote at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Lodhi Estate area. Rahul Gandhi voted at a polling booth in NP Senior Secondary School in Aurangzeb Lane. He said that "love would win" in these elections. Cricketers Virat Kohli and Kapil Dev also voted in the national capital. While the seven seats in the national capital are at stake, the voting is taking place for 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, 8 each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, and four in Jharkhand. The seventh and last phase of elections will be held on May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.