Eighth phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held today. 64 constituencies spread over 7 states will go to polls in this phase. The constituencies going to polls are 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, 7 in Bihar, 6 in West Bengal, 5 in Uttarakhand, 4 in Himachal Pradesh and 2 in Jammu and Kahsmir. 175 Assembly constituencies in Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh will also go to polls today.
Prominent candidates in the fray for this penultimate phase of Parliamentary elections are Rahul Gandhi, Beni Prasad Verma, MM Pallam Raju, Mohd Kaif, Smriti Irani, Varun Gandhi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Anurag Thakur. Other prominent leaders whose fate will be decided today include Ram Vilas Paswan, Rabri Devi and Kumar Vishwas.
Election Commission has taken a number of steps to ensure free and fair polling during the last two phases of Lok Sabha polls. These include deploying poll tracking teams and activating quick response system. Presiding officers have been asked to use their powers under electoral laws to use central foces deployed in polling stations to prevent any untoward incident.