New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) These are the top stories from the northern region at 4.30 pm

These are the top stories from the northern region at 4.30 pm JAIPUR ELN29 RJ-VOTER-3RDLD TURNOUT Jaipur: A voter turnout of 50 per cent was recorded till 3 pm Monday in 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan where two former Olympians are among the 134 candidates in the fray. LUCKNOW ELX27 POLLS-UP-3RDLD TURNOUT Lucknow: Over 45 per cent voter turnout was recorded Monday till 3 pm in 14 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh where Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi are in the fray.

AMETHI ELN8 UP-LD AMETHI Amethi (UP): Polling for the keenly watched contest in Amethi, long considered a Gandhi family turf, began on a contentious note on Monday with BJP candidate Smriti Irani alleging that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was "ensuring booth capturing". BHIWANI (HAR) ELN30 HR-LD-RAHUL Bhiwani (Har): Congress President Rahul Gandhi Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "boxer" who entered the ring to fight unemployment but ended up punching his "coach" and veteran BJP leader L K Advani. LUCKNOW ELX29 UP-MINISTER-TALAQ Lucknow: Victims of instant triple talaq will vote for Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said Monday, barely 24 hours after the prime minister targeted opposition parties over the centuries-old tradition in Islam.

BALLIA DES6 UP-RAJBHAR-RESIGN Ballia (UP): Known for blowing hot and cold against ally BJP, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash ajbhar claimed Monday he has resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government and it was up to the saffron party to decide on it. SRINAGAR DES1 JK-DARBAR Srinagar: Civil Secretariat, the seat of Jammu and Kashmir government, Monday opened here after functioning in winter capital Jammu for six months as part of the nearly 150-year-old practice known in the state as 'Darbar Move'.

SRINAGAR ELX2 JK-POLL-BEGIN Srinagar: Polling was underway Monday in Shopian and Pulwama districts -- part of Anantnag Lok Sabha seat – and in Ladakh constituency of Jammu and Kashmir amidst stringent security arrangements, officials said. SRINAGAR ELN3 POLL-JK-GRENADE Srinagar: Militants Monday lobbed a grenade towards a polling station in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir where polling is underway for the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, police said.

JAMMU DES5 JK-SHELLING Jammu: Pakistan army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and small arms firing targeting forward posts and villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Monday, resulting in injuries to two civilians, officials said. NEW DELHI ELN26 DL-LD AAP MLA-BJP New Delhi: AAP MLA Devinder Singh Sehrawat joined the BJP on Monday, the second legislator to quit the party and join the saffron fold in less than a week.

NEW DELHI ELX28 DL-BJP-IMAMS New Delhi: Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel Monday alleged the AAP convened a meeting of over 300 Imams in the Chandni Chowk area and asked them to campaign for the party as its government had raised their salaries. NEW DELHI ELX30 DL-SP New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party Monday announced its support for five BSP and two AAP candidates in Delhi.

PTI ASH ASH.