(Image source from: Voting fever grips India)

The voter turnout in the fifth and biggest round of Lok Sabha elections, spanning from Jammu and Kashmir to Karnataka and from Maharashtra to West Bengal, superseded 2009 poll figures. And if truth be told, that is no good news for the Congress party. A bigger turnout only reflects signs of anti-incumbency  among the voters, a cause of worry for the grand old party of India.

While Congress party leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sushilkumar Shinde are hopeful of making a cinch in their respective constituencies, the powerful tide of Modi wave that has gripped India cannot be ignored. BJP is hopeful of making a clean sweep in Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Nearly 65% of eligible electors cast their ballot across 12 states. Constituencies of West Bengal recorded the highest turnout with 81.57%, Madhya Pradesh recorded the lowest at 54%. Karnataka recorded 66% turnout and Uttar Pradesh,  the key electoral hub registered a 62.52% voting.

Lauding the larger turnouts, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said that the long queues of first-time and women voters indicated that the country is marching towards a change.

Some of the biggest candidates in the fray in last day's poll were Ananth Kumar and Nandan Nilekani (Bangalore South), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer), Misha Bharti (Pataliputra), V Balakrishnan (Bangalore Central), BS Yeddyurappa (Shimoga), Ghulam Nabi Azad (Udhampur), Jaswant Singh (Barmer), Maneka Gandhi (Pilibhit), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib), Supriya Sule (Baramati), M Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapur), Ashok Chavan (Nanded),  Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur), V Balakrishnan (Bangalore Central), and SS Ahluwalia and Bhaichung Bhutia (Darjeeling).

AW: Suchorita Choudhury