21052024-TTC-01.qxd 21-05-2024 00:43 13 MAMATA: NOT AGAINST RK MISSION INDIA VOTES /thetribunechd Page 1 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 140 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 IN KARNAL, SHAH ALL PRAISE FOR SOLDIERS, FARMERS HARYANA tuesday | 21 may 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Maharashtra lags at 53.5%, Bihar 53.7% Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 20 The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections recorded a turnout of 59.06 per cent across 49 seats in eight states and union territories at 10 pm, as per the preliminary data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). West Bengal recorded the highest 73.14 per cent polling and Maharashtra the lowest 53.51 per cent. With voting ending for the fifth phase, elections are now over on 427 seats and 25 states. Scattered incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal where polling was held on seven seats. Voters stand in a queue to cast their vote during the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla on Monday. ANI Ladakh stood second in terms of turnout, which was 69.62 per cent. The six seats of Mumbai city, hub of commerce and glamour, recorded less than 50 per cent polling with Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s Mumbai North seat witnessing an unimpressive 46.9 per cent voting. Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, from where sitting MP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde is seeking re-election, saw a poor 43 per cent voter turnout. In Thane, it was 49.81 per cent. In Uttar Pradesh, which saw an overall turnout continued on page 9 Naseer Ganai REVERSING THE TREND YEAR POLLING 2019 2014 2009 2004 1999 37.41% 38.96% 41.84% 35.65% 27.79% 2,103 polling stations across the Baramulla constituency, which witnessed a tripartite contest between National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, J&K Peoples Conference’s Sajad Lone and Awami Ittehad Party’s jailed candidate Engineer Rashid. The 59 per cent turnout recorded in Baramulla contrasts starkly with previous elections, which saw only 5 per cent polling in 1989, 50 per cent in 1996, and 34 per cent in 2019. continued on page 9 Farmers suspend ~7-cr illegal foreign ‘rail roko’ protest funding to AAP: ED PATIALA: In a reprieve for pas- sengers, farm unions have suspended their “rail roko” protest at the Shambhu railway station. Farmers under the banner of the SKM (NonPolitical) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been squatting on a rail track at Shambhu since April 17, seeking release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police. INSIDE NEW DELHI: The ED has written to the Union Home Ministry alleging AAP has received more than ~7 crore foreign funds in contravention of the FCRA, sources said. During its probe against Sukhpal Khaira, the ED found AAP got ~7.08 crore till now and it “manipulated” the identities and nationalities of foreign donors. — PTI In CM’s bastion Sangrur, ‘outsider’ Khaira poses tough challenge to Hayer Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 20 Punjab’s Sangrur is turning out to be one of the most keenly contested parliamentary constituencies, with Congress nominee Sukhpal Singh Khaira challenging the might of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his confidant Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the AAP candidate, on their home turf. Mann represents Dhuri Assembly seat while his Cabinet minister Hayer is an MLA from Barnala, both segments part of the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency. Khaira, on the other hand, is an MLA from Bholath in Kapurthala, a district situated geographically at quite a distance from Sangrur. Khaira, who was jailed for four months last year while facing trial in a 2015 drugs Tribune News Service ONE-DAY MOURNING IN INDIA, PM MODI CONDOLES DEATH Baramulla rises from terror shadow, sees record 59% turnout Srinagar, May 20 In the absence of boycott calls from separatists, the high-profile Baramulla constituency in the Kashmir valley on Monday witnessed 59 per cent polling, the highest in its electoral history. Sopore, once considered a militant hub and the home town of late separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, also sprang a surprise by reporting 40 per cent polling during the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. This comes after the Srinagar constituency had seen a record turnout of 38.49 per cent on May 13 during the fourth phase. This too was the highestever polling since 1996, the Election Commission of India had said. The voting took place in PM: Not anti-minority, but against ‘spl citizens’ New Delhi, May 20 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest. Ph-5: 59% polling, WB leads with 73% Iran’s Prez Raisi found dead at copter crash site Sukhpal Khaira Meet Hayer case, had accused Mann of unleashing vendetta to settle old scores. The friendsturned-foes were among the founding members of AAP in Punjab. Khaira had won on the AAP ticket from Bholath in 2017 while Mann represented Sangrur in Parliament in 2014 and 2019. “Chief Minister Mann has become the new ‘Maharaja of Punjab’. His party is no longer the Aam Aadmi Party, but the ‘Khas Aadmi Party’. Voters have learnt this reality the hard way and they will punish him for his deeds,” continued on page 9 c m y b The crash comes as West Asia remains unsettled by the IsraelHamas war, during which Raisi launched an unprecedented drone-andmissile attack on Israel just last month. Continued on Page 9 edit: iran after raisi EBRAHIM RAISI New Delhi, May 20 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the BJP has never been against minorities, believes in equality for all, but is not ready to accept anyone as “special citizens”. “The BJP has never been against minorities. Not just today but never. We want to take everyone along with us. We are not ready to accept anyone as special citizens but consider everyone equal,” the PM said speaking to a news agency today. The PM had earlier said his sole purpose was to expose the opposition, which was the one playing “communal and caste politics”. “I am going to expose the opposition even if I am MY WELFARE LIES IN CONSTITUTION’S WELFARE ❝ Without Constitution, a person of my socio-economic background couldn’t have made it this far. My own welfare lies in welfare of Constitution. Narendra Modi, PM tagged with a communal label,” he had told a television channel yesterday. The PM, exuding confidence of the NDA combine winning 400 continued on page 9