Morning News -

THE HEADLINES:

Voting underway for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polling in forty nine constituencies spread over six States and two Union Territories; Prominent candidates include Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah and Chirag Paswan.
Polling for second phase of Odisha Assembly elections also being held.
Helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi goes missing after hard landing; Prime Minister Narendra Modi expresses concern.
Ace Indian para shuttlers Sukant Kadam, Tarun and Suhas seal their berths for upcoming Paralympics in Paris.
French Open Tennis tournament to begin at Stade Roland Garros in Paris today.

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Voting is taking place for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections today in Fourty Nine constituencies spread over six States and two Union Territories. Voting began at 7 in the morning and will end at 6 PM. 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh, 13 seats of Maharashtra, seven seats of West Bengal, five seats each of Odisha and Bihar, three seats of Jharkhand and one seat each in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are being covered in this phase. The Election Commission has made all arrangements at the polling stations. So far in the first four phases, polling concluded smoothly in 379 Parliamentary Constituencies of 23 States and Union Territories. These elections have registered a total voter turnout of about 66.95 per cent.

The prominent candidates whose fate will be decided in the 5th phase include BJP leaders and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and KL Sharma, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, and Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas).

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In Odisha, five parliamentary constituencies where voting is taking place today are Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Balangir and Aska. Polling is also being held in 35 assembly segments in the second phase today. A total of 40 candidates are in the fray for the five Lok Sabha seats and 265 candidates for the 35 Assembly seats which include heavyweight leaders from the BJD, BJP and Congress.

Political fate of Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, who is seeking a record sixth term, will be decided in this phase. He is contesting from two constituencies-Hinjili in Ganjam district and Kantabanji in Balangir district. The other prominent candidates who are in the fray today include former Union Ministers and senior BJP leaders Jual Oram and Dilip Ray, former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey besides many state ministers, sitting MPs and MLAs.

As many as 102 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed for security of the polling booths. Of the total 9,162 polling booths, 20 percent are sensitive or critical polling stations, including some in the Left-Wing Extremism-affected districts of Odisha.

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In Bihar, polling is underway in five Lok Sabha constituencies: Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Madhubani, and Sitamarhi under the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections. More than 95 lakh voters in these five parliamentary constituencies will decide the electoral fate of 80 candidates.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in riverine areas and polling booths of the constituencies of Saran, Muzaffarpur, and Hajipur. In the Madhubani and Sitamarhi parliamentary constituencies, the border has been sealed along the Indo-Nepal border until the end of the polling.

Chirag Paswan, son of former Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan, from Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, Dr. Rohini Acharya, daughter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran are prominent candidates in this phase.

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Campaigning for the remaining two phases of parliamentary elections are in full swing. While the sixth phase of polling will be held on 25th of this month, the seventh and the final phase of polling will take place on the 1st of June.

Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi reached Puri in Odisha this morning where he is holding a mega roadshow for the party candidates in Puri Lok Sabha constituency and assembly constituencies coming under its purview. He offered prayers at Sri Jagannath Temple before going for the roadshow at the Grand Trunk Road of Puri.

The Prime Minister will also address two election rallies at Angul under Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency and Cuttack under Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency today. All these constituencies are going for polls in the sixth phase of the general elections.

Odisha Chief Minister and BJD Chief Naveen Patnaik is also scheduled to hold a roadshow in Bhubaneswar to campaign for party candidates.

With just four days left for campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in the National Capital Delhi, all political parties are trying their best to woo the voters.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has urged the people to pray for the return of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others on board the helicopter, which made a hard landing and has not yet been located. He also asserted that Iran doesn’t need to be worried and said that the country’s administration will not be disrupted at all.

President Ebrahim Raisi was travelling back to Iran following a visit to Azerbaijan when his helicopter came down in bad weather conditions yesterday afternoon. On board the chopper were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other senior officials.

Iran has intensified search operation for the crashed helicopter

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Ace Indian para shuttlers Sukant Kadam, Tarun and Suhas have sealed their berths for the upcoming Paralympics in Paris. This is the first time Kadam will be taking part in the Paralympics, and he will be playing in the men’s SL 4 category. SL4 is for players with movement affected at a low level on one side of the body, in both legs, or in the minor absence of one limb. Apart from him, Tarun and Suhas have also qualified from the same category.

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French Open 2024 tennis tournament gets underway at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France today. The main draw matches at the second grand slam of the year begin on 26th of this month.

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:

“Phase-Five voting to lock fate of another 49 seats today” is a top headline in Hindustan Times. While The Asian Age writes “Amethi, Rae Bareli to vote today.”
“Capital sizzles at 44.4 degree Celsius with Najafgarh area touching 47.8” reports The Tribune with Red Alert issued for the National Capital till May 21. The Hindu notes Red Alert issued for Kerala as the state braces for ‘heavy rainfall’.
1.8 million mobile connections to be blocked soon as part of the Government’s first countrywide operation to curb cyber crime and online fraud targetting Cyber thieves, reports The Economic Times.
According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet “Global life expectancy to increase between 2022 and 2050” states The Pioneer.
And Finally, ” The Times of India mentions about Andhra-born Gopi Thotakura making history as he became “the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist.”

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

Voting underway for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polling in forty nine constituencies spread over six States and two Union Territories; Prominent candidates include Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah and Chirag Paswan.
Polling for second phase of Odisha Assembly elections also being held.
Helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi goes missing after hard landing; Prime Minister Narendra Modi expresses concern.
Ace Indian para shuttlers Sukant Kadam, Tarun and Suhas seal their berths for upcoming Paralympics in Paris.
French Open Tennis tournament to begin at Stade Roland Garros in Paris today.

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