#Elections2019 LIVE: Phase 5 and how the TV media is covering it

Welcome to our coverage of Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections. Nearly 700 candidates are contesting across 51 seats in seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir.

5.11 pm

The voter turnout at 5 pm is 52.08 per cent, according to the Election Commission. West Bengal has the highest turnout at 5 pm, standing at 65.01 per cent. Jammu & Kashmir’s turnout is the lowest at 15.51 per cent.

4.35 pm

NewsX reports that TMC workers attacked their reporter Tapas Sengupta in Barrackpore, West Bengal.

4.30 pm

Responding to Rahul Gandhi cancelling his visit to Amethi today, BJP leader Smriti Irani said, “I never expected that Rahul Gandhi will be so proud that he will not visit his constituency on the day of polling … He is running away from here.” Irani had accused the Congress of booth capturing earlier today.

4 pm

TMC candidate from Howrah constituency, Prasun Banerjee, alleges he and his supporters were assaulted by central force personnel in Balitikuri. HT reports that Banerjee, a former football captain,  said his arm was “twisted” by one of the personnel. “Women workers were also hit with sticks. I was hit in the shoulder. I am not used to assaults.”

3.58 pm

Republic reports that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has canceled his visit to Amethi.

3.45 pm

Here’s the latest data from the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app. The voter turnout at 3 pm stands at 50.70 per cent.

3 pm

India Today‘s Preeti Choudhry is in Gwalior talking to people on the ground. From a gun store in the city, she tells us: “There’s a certain obsession this region has for guns … looks quite cool. But I tend to agree with the man selling these guns, instead of spending ₹70,000 on this gun, I’d rather buy a bhains (buffalo).”

2.55 pm

Suspected militants reportedly hurled a grenade at a polling station in Chatpora in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir. Another grenade was lobbed at a polling station in Tikan village, but it didn’t explode. No injuries have been reported so far. Two Lok Sabha seats in Jammu & Kashmir have gone to the polls today: Ladakh and Anantnag.

2.40 pm

According to The Times of India, the BJP is filing a complaint with the Central Election Commission against the State Election Commission in Rajasthan for “providing fast EVMs in Muslim-dominated areas and slow EVMs in Hindu-dominated areas”.

2.33 pm

Republic TV reports a “bloodbath” in West Bengal, stating a media convoy was attacked in Hooghly.

2.18 pm

Addressing a rally in Bhiwani, Haryana, Congress president Rahul Gandhi just called Narendra Modi a “boxer” who was supposed to fight various issues like unemployment, but instead, “hit” people with policies like demonetisation and also “turned around and punched his coach LK Advani”.

2.15 pm

Some voter turnout updates from the Voter Turnout app. The turnout at 2 pm stands at 40.74 per cent.

1.16 pm

According to the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app, turnout as of 1 pm is 38.05 per cent.

Meanwhile on Times Now, anchor Navika Kumar was spotted standing again. This time her advice to the panelists was, “Please stop behaving like the rowdy goons of West Bengal.” Kumar’s advice goes for a toss five minutes later as three people start screaming at each other again. Here’s an excerpt from the studio debate:

Saba Naqvi: “I have no idea what anyone is saying. These are all shouting monkeys.”

Navika Kumar: “Neither do I, Saba.”

1:09 pm

India Today and most other news channels have cut live to a speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a rally in Tamluk, West Bengal. Attacking the state’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, Modi says in the speech that ‘Didi is sending those who chant Jai Sri Ram to jail’. He also said the BJP stands with the youth, women, farmers and workers, alike.

12. 57 pm

BJP spokesperson Ashok Thakur on NDTV India has sparked an argument on Arvind Kejriwal’s sealing statement. According to him, the Delhi CM had the power to stop the sealing drive and “has now spoken the truth after he got slapped”.

The anchor asks: “Why aren’t you more sensitive about this? A man got slapped?”

Thakur responds: “All I’m saying is, why is he the only CM who gets slapped again and again?”

12. 40 pm

The BJP has sought repolling in Barrackpore, West Bengal, where their candidate Arjun Singh was allegedly assaulted by TMC workers. NDTV reports that BJP leader Prakash Javedkar said, “TMC goons are pressing buttons, there is rigging happening. Our candidates were threatened and beaten.”

12.39 pm

ABP News is winning on the news studio grandeur front. Clearly.

12.35 pm

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu just called the BJP’s Smriti Irani a “cry baby” following her allegations of booth capturing by the Congress in Amethi. Sidhu’s statement was accompanied by the very uncomfortable sight of him imitating a baby crying.

12.25 pm

Over on India Today, Rajdeep Sardesai proclaims: “No interviewing voters in the line, that’s one of the rules for today”, cutting off one of his reporters who was about to do just that.

12.20 pm

TMC leader Maharaja Nag allegedly pressed the button on an EVM for several voters in Naskarpur village in Hooghly, Firstpost reports.

12 pm

Republic Bharat is now showing clips of people chanting “Modi Modi” during a Kejriwal road show.

11.55 am

Nishant Varma and other panelists on Times Now start screaming at each other in the context of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reportedly saying a review meeting cannot be held with the prime minister on Cyclone Fani due to officials being busy with the elections. Navika Kumar physically puts herself in the middle and snaps, “You people fight for democracy and call Modi ‘Hitler’, but what are you doing?”

11.51 am

Republic Bharat has grabbed hold of folk singer Malini Awasthi. The reporter has been making her sing songs about the importance of voting for the past 15 minutes.

11.48 am

Times Now reports that Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao is meeting Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan this evening in Thiruvananthapuram and then the DMK’s MK Stalin in a day or two. Times Now anchor Navika Kumar says of Mamata Banerjee: “Didi doesn’t have time to meet the prime minister himself, I don’t think she’ll have time to meet KCR.”

11.38 am

Here’s the voter turnout at 11 am according to the Election Commission.

11.35 am

The Congress has dismissed Smriti Irani’s allegations of booth capturing in Amethi, HT reports. Congress spokesperson Zeeshan Haider says: “It now is more than clear that she has lost. Now, she is looking for excuses. If Rahul Gandhiji is capturing booths, and capturing votes, then what is the Election Commission doing that has been working in a biased manner in favour of Modi and Amit Shah.”

11.17 am

Controversy continues in West Bengal. Locket Chatterjee, the BJP candidate from Hooghly, alleges the TMC isn’t allowing BJP polling agents to enter the booth, Firstpost reports. She also says the presiding officer is “taking the TMC’s side”. Chatterjee also got into an argument with TMC workers, alleging “immense rigging”.

11.15 am

In Rae Bareli, India Today is standing by in great excitement, saying they’re waiting for “the man of the moment”, Rahul Gandhi. “The chopper has taken off, waiting for that first glimpse of Rahul Gandhi,” the reporter says.

11.05 am

India TV reporters try getting sound bites from BJP leader Arjun Singh. The reporter asks, “Sir, what happened, what happened, please tell?” Singh casually responds: “Don’t you see what happened?” He then starts talking to someone on the phone complaining about how he was attacked.

The reporter  persists, “Sir, were you hurt by this attack, sir? Please tell us.” Singh looks up, still talking on the phone, and says, “Of course. Can’t you see I’m hurt?”

11 am

Arjun Singh, the BJP candidate from Barrackpore, claims he was attacked by TMC workers who were “scaring away voters”. He also says the central force jawans are “drunk”, though India Today quoted locals as saying Singh is creating trouble.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Smriti Irani says the Congress is indulging in “booth capturing” in Amethi.

10:45 am

Narendra Modi’s very own channel, NaMo TV, is showing BJP leader Arun Jaitley in different chill poses telling people about the achievements of the government. #HarBoothParModi flashes underneath as “trending now”.

10:25 am

DD News follows Prime Minister Modi as he conducts an aerial survey of areas hit by Cyclone Fani in Odisha. Polling percentages are flashing in one single ticker underneath. The PM was accompanied by state chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

10.10 am

A reporter on CNN-News18 is chasing an extremely agitated woman asking, “Ki hoeche didi? Ki hoechhe (What happened, sister, what happened)?” The woman gave an illegible response and ran away. There are reports coming in from West Bengal that violence has erupted in the state with TMC blaming the BJP, and the BJP blaming the TMC.

10.08 am

On India Today, Rahul Kanwal ruefully asks: “Does it feel to you like a college or school exam where the level of intensity of effort in the initial papers was really high but as you come to the middle it starts flagging?” Election fatigue has clearly set in.

His panel also wonders why Shashi Tharoor is away in the US and isn’t campaigning for his party.

10 am

The voter turnout at 9 am was 11.78 per cent according to data on the Election Commission’s Voter Turnout app, HT reports. The percentages stood at 11.51 per cent in Bihar, 13.25 per cent in Rajasthan, 9.82 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 11.47 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 13.65 per cent in West Bengal, 13. 46 per cent in Jharkhand. 0.80 per cent in Jammu & Kashmir.

9.55 am

As voting kicked off this morning, at 7.45 am on Republic TV, a journalist asked women in Amethi, “Vikas hua hai kya?” Five of them said “Yes yes. We are happy.” The journalist’s conclusion, “Rahul Gandhi doesn’t come to Amethi much. Priyanka has been campaigning here. Smriti Irani has given kadi takkar to Rahul Gandhi.”

9.45 am

Here’s the list of constituencies voting today:

Rajasthan: Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur

Bihar: Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Hajipur

Jammu and Kashmir: Ladakh and Anantnag

Jharkhand: Kodarma, Ranchi, Khunti and Hazaribagh

Uttar Pradesh: Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Bahraich, Kaiserganj and Gonda

West Bengal: Bangaon, Barrackpore, Howrah, Uleberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambag

Madhya Pradesh: Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad and Betul

PM Narendra Modi urged voters to “contribute to India’s better future”.