Ahead of phase 5, SC to hear plea over poll code violation by Modi, Amit Shah; contempt plea against Rahul for 'chowkidar chor hai' remark

The fourth phase of voting for the 2019 Lok Sabha election concluded across 72 parliamentary constituencies in nine states on Monday. In the fourth phase, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal voted. Bengal recorded the maximum voter turnout among all the states that went to polls and Maharashtra recorded 52.07 percent polling with the voting percentage in Mumbai stopping at 51.11 percent. The eight seats in West Bengal saw a turnout of over 76 percent till 6 pm. Madhya Pradesh recorded the second highest voting percentage in the fourth phase at close to 66 percent. [caption id=“attachment_6409851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah after the release of BJP manifesto. PTI[/caption] Now, the fifth phase of voting will take place in seven states comprising 51 Lok Sabha constituencies on 6 May. Voting will take place in some seats of Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi are the ‘high-profile’ seats in Uttar Pradesh that will vote in the fifth phase. Campaigning ahead of the fifth phase will commence in full swing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed public rallies at Barrackpore and Srerampur in West Bengal and also at Koderma in Jharkhand on Monday, will address public rallies at Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Barabanbki and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. BJP president, Amit Shah will address a public meeting at Dausa in Rajasthan. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who addressed rallies at Churu and Jaipur in Rajasthan on Monday, will address public rallies at Tikamgarh, Damoh, and Panna in Madhya Pradesh. On Monday, Congress MP from Silchar in Assam Sushmita Dev moved the Supreme Court and filed a petition alleging that Modi and Shah have violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) at various occasions during campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections . A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has agreed to hear the petition on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rahul, who was issued a contempt notice by the Supreme Court last week for wrongly attributing “chowkidar chor hai” jibe to the apex court, on Monday filed a counter- affidavit wherein the Congress chief reiterated his stand that attributed this remark to the apex court in the ‘heat of political campaigning’ and expressed ‘regret’ but did not rendered an apology for the same. On Tuesday, while the Supreme Court will hear Dev’s plea alleging violation of the poll code by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the contempt petition against Rahul will also come up for hearing, as Supreme Court had earlier ruled that it will hear the contempt petition along with the pending review petition against the verdict in Rafale case on 30 April.