In the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha Election, women in several constituencies of Punjab performed Gidda to spread awareness and encourage voters to exercise their right to franchise. In this phase, there are 57 seats across seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh in polls on Saturday, including, Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term.
Gidda is a popular folk dance of women in the Punjab region while being just as energetic as Bhangra, it displays feminine grace and elegance. The costume is brightly coloured salwar-kameez and heavy jewellery, the dancers usually braid their hair.
At polling booths, there were displays of the culture and heritage of Punjab as well.
In Punjab, people are voting for 13 seats where prominent candidates in the fray are four-time MP Preneet Kaur, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, three-time MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Ravneet Singh Bittu.
The BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are contesting the polls on their own for the first time since 1996 while two I.N.D.I.A bloc parties - the Congress and AAP - have fielded their candidates.
Besides this voting is underway in Himachal Pradesh for 4 seat, Uttar Pradesh for 13 constituencies , 9 seat in West Bengal, 8 seats in Bihar, 6 seats in Odisha and 3 seats in Jharkhand besides lone seat of Chandigarh.
Among the 904 candidates, there are several prominent leaders in the fray including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur, actor Kangana Ranaut, and Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti.
Over 10.06 crore citizens, including nearly 5.24 crore men, 4.82 crore women and 3,574 third-gender electors are eligible to vote in this phase. The seventh phase will mark a grand finish to the world's largest polling marathon which began on April 19 and already covered 6 phases and 486 Lok Sabha seats.