New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The fifth phase polling on Monday will be a reaffirmation of the lotus "blooming" in West Bengal as the BJP is set to wrest the highest number of seats in the state, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said.

Singh, who on Saturday returned to Delhi after campaigning in West Bengal, also asked voters to ensure they exercise their franchise.

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Voting in seven Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal -- Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambag -- will be held on May 20.

"The fifth phase of polling on Monday will reaffirm the lotus blooming in West Bengal as the BJP is set to wrest the most number of seats in the eastern state," he told PTI here on Sunday.

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The lotus is the BJP's election symbol.

Singh, the Union Minister of State for Personnel, said, in the ongoing election process, in each of the four phases so far, among all the states and Union Territories, West Bengal has consistently recorded a comparatively higher voter turnout.

He said while West Bengal recorded a turnout of 81.91 per cent in the first phase, the figures for the third and fourth phases were recorded at 81.52 per cent and 80.22 per cent, respectively.

"Only the second phase recorded a slightly lower voter turnout of 76.58 per cent but that too was higher compared to most of the other states," Singh observed.

He said in spite of the scorching heat and the prolonged election process, the consistent high turnout in West Bengal is an indicator of people's support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies besides their "disenchantment with the rule of violence and intimidation under Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government". PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)