LS polls phase-6: Dignitaries, politicians, wrestlers queue up to cast vote

Several dignitaries, including President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and politicians cast their vote in the national capital, while in Haryana, many prominent wrestlers like Babita Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt exercised their franchise in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.In the penultimate round, 58 parliamentary constituencies in eight states and Union Territories went to polls.

Several dignitaries, including President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and politicians cast their vote in the national capital, while in Haryana, many prominent wrestlers like Babita Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt exercised their franchise in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.

In the penultimate round, 58 parliamentary constituencies in eight states and Union Territories went to polls. Simultaneously, polling was also held for 42 assembly seats in Odisha.

Here are snapshots of the day: ** President Murmu cast her vote at an all-women polling booth -- decorated in pink and white colours -- inside the President's Estate while Vice President Dhankhar voted at the polling station at the CPWD service centre in Delhi's North Avenue.

** Several politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, were seen at polling stations in Delhi along with their family members. ** Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with his family cast his vote in Delhi. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also voted in the national capital.

** In Haryana, prominent wrestlers like Phogat, Dutt and Reetika Hooda were seen in queues outside polling booths. ** In the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, Mohammad Sultan, a senior citizen, drew much attention as he came to a polling station riding a horse.

** In Delhi, specially designed pink and model booths were a hit among the voters, who not only cast their votes with ease but also enjoyed clicking selfies on the polling day. In some booths, there were also arrangement of creches.

** Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Priyadarshee Panigrahi, the son of former parliamentarian and Odisha minister Sriballav Panigrahi, travelled from Dubai to cast his vote in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Odisha.

** In Odisha, an elderly woman voter who fell ill at a polling booth in the Nayagarh assembly segment's Bhapur area died at a hospital, while a polling agent died at a booth under the Hindol assembly segment of Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat.

** There were reports from parts of Odisha that a large number of people expressed frustration over curbs on carrying mobile-phones to polling booths, with some returning without casting their votes. ** In a bid to increase polling percentage in urban booths in Jharkhand's Ranchi, the district administration tied up with a bike-taxi aggregator to provide free pick-and-drop facilities to voters.

** Jammu and Kashmir: People living along the Line of Control (LoC) in Sehar and Makri under the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency cast their vote without the fear of cross-border shelling. A renewed ceasefire between India and Pakistan came into effect on February 25, 2021, providing much needed relief to border residents.