Polling kicks off for third phase of Lok Sabha elections
What's the story
Polling for the third phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections kicked off on Tuesday, 7:00am.
As many as 93 constituencies in 11 states and Union territories are going to polls in this phase.
To recall, the first phase and second phase were held on April 19 and April 26 respectively and the subsequent phases will be held on May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
Around 96.9 crore people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase election.
Third phase polling
BJP has already won Surat unopposed
While 94 constituencies across 12 states and UTs were scheduled to vote in third phase of polling on May 7, the Bharatiya Janata Party has already won Surat in Gujarat unopposed.
Also, the voting for Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir has been deferred to May 25.
However, polling in Betul in Madhya Pradesh, which was to be held in the second phase on April 26, is also being held in third phase on May 7.
Parliamentary constituencies
States, UTs going to polls
Here are the states and UTs where polling is taking place on Tuesday.
Assam (4 seats), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Madhya Pradesh (9), Maharashtra (11), Uttar Pradesh (10), West Bengal (4).
As many as 102 constituencies went to polls in the first phase, while 89 constituencies went to polls in the second phase.
2024 polls
Key contenders in Phase 3
Key contenders in Phase 3 of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections include Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri.
Also in fray are Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Berhampore, Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh from Vidisha and Rajgarh respectively, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar)'s Supriya Sule from Baramati.
Initial phases
Voting concluded in 13 states, UTs in first, second phase
In the first two phases, voting concluded for all seats in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
Voter turnout in Phase 1 and 2 of the Lok Sabha elections dipped to 66.14% and 66.71%, respectively, according to the Election Commission of India, making a decrease from the 2019 polls, which saw turnouts of 69.43% and 69.17% in the first and second phases, respectively.