Campaigning ends for fifth phase of LS polls

Amethi and Rae Bareli in limelight

Campaigning concluded on Saturday for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls covering 49 constituencies in six states and two UTs including the high-profile Rae Bareli and Amethi seats from where former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Smriti Irani are in the fray respectively.

In Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, former chief minister Omar Abdullah, who is among 22 candidates in the fray, held a roadshow in Soibugh - a central Kashmir village that was once a hotbed of militancy - on the last day of campaigning.

While temperatures soared across the country, there was no let up in the campaign heat as the Lok Sabha election season entered the last fortnight. The Election Commission on Tuesday said it expects star campaigners, particularly of the national parties, to lead by example in the remaining three phases of the Lok Sabha polls and not vitiate the delicate fabric of society.

With over 40 of these seats with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Prime Minister Narendra and other BJP leaders tried to fend off the challenge posed by the INDIA bloc parties by raising the pitch on issues of appeasement, dynastic politics, Ram temple, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), corruption and welfare initiatives taken by his government.

“If the SP and the Congress come to power, they will send Ram Lalla back to the tent and bulldoze the temple,” Modi claimed. He also alleged that the opposition wanted to bring back Article 370.

The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties accused the BJP of polarising voters with its “Hindu-Muslim politics”, and not focusing on issues like unemployment and inflation. They also persisted with their offensive on the issues of reservations and protecting the Constitution.