May 7 – In the eighth phase of polling for the 2014 Indian Parliament elections, people are voting for 64 constituencies in seven states. A total of 52 per cent polling was recorded in Uttar Pradesh while 62.19 per cent polling was recorded in Andhra Pradesh till 4 pm.
Curiously, all Gandhi family youngsters – Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and cousin Varun Gandhi – had trouble at polling booths.
Smriti Irani, BJP candidate in Amethi constituency, challenging Preeti Sahay, Political Secretary to Priyanka Gandhi outside a polling booth.
While the Congress vice-president was spotted inside a polling booth in Amethi, which is in violation of law, sister Priyank Gandhi’s secretary Preeti Sahay had a face-off with BJP candidate Smriti Irani at another polling booth in the constituency in UP.
Varun Gandhi was stopped from entering a polling booth in neighbouring Sultanpur.
The turnout till 4 pm in other states was 46.55 per cent in Bihar, 52.96 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 35.01 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir, 64.39 in West Bengal and 52.24 per cent in Uttarakhand.
This phase is significant for the prestige battles to play out in Amethi for Rahul Gandhi and Varun Gandhi in Sultanpur, in Saran for Rabri Devi, Hajipur for Ram Vilas Paswan.
Besides two former chief ministers of Uttarakhand Gen. B.C. Khanduri and Ramesh Nishank ar ein fray along with Union minister Beni Prasad Verma from Gonda in UP. The state-wise seat distribution is Jammu and Kashmir (2), Uttarakhand (5), HP (4), UP (15), Bihar (7), WB (17) and AP (Seemandhra) (25).
– India Today
