In its third phase, 10 states and 2 UTs across 93 Parliamentary constituencies (General- 72; ST- 11; SC-10) went to poll today for the Lok Sabha elections. The first two phases of the vote were held on April 19 and April 26 in 190 constituencies, with a voter turnout of 66.1 percent and 66.7 percent, respectively.
Voter Stats
Voting began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm in the evening today. The third phase has 17.24 crore registered voters, comprising 8.85 crore male and 8.39 crore female voters. 1.85 lakh polling booths had been established and were overseen by 264 observers(101 General Observers, 54 Police Observers, 109 Expenditure Observers).
The 14.04 lakh registered 85+ years old, 39,599 voters above 100 years and 15.66 lakh PwD voters for phase 3 have been empowered to exercise their voting rights from the comfort of the home itself. This additional facility has gained affirmative response from the public.
Additionally, as part of the Election Commission’s International Election Visitor programme, 75 delegates from global election management bodies of 23 countries visited the polling stations in six states today. This programme was initiated from May 4.
States with their important constituencies
In the third phase, Gujarat had the highest number of constituencies polling today, 25 out of 26 seats. From the northern part of the country, Bihar(5 seats), Chattisgarh(7 seats), West Bengal(4), Uttar Pradesh(10) Madhya Pradesh(9 seats) and Assam(4 seats) polled today. From South India, Karnataka(14 seats), Goa(2 seats), Maharashtra(11) and 2 UTs, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli went to poll today.
Election in the Betul constituency which was shifted from Phase 2 to Phase 3 following BSP’s candidate death took place today.
Key Contenders
In the third phase of the Lok Sabha election, over 1,300 candidates are vying for victory, with 120 of them being women. Among the prominent contenders are notable figures like union ministers Amit Shah, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Supriya Sule, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, Pralhad Joshi, and Badruddin Ajmal.
Amit Shah: Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought re-election from Gandhinagar, a constituency previously represented by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwarts such as LK Advani, contesting against Congress leader Sonal Patel.
Jyotiraditya Scindia: Former Congress leader and BJP stalwart Jyotiraditya Scindia contested from Guna, Madhya Pradesh, against Rao Yadvendra Singh from Congress
Supriya Sule: Nationalist Congress Party India (NCP) leader Supriya Sule, sought re-election from Baramati, facing her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Baramati is a significant seat in Maharashtra.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: Congress’ Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, contested from Baharampur, West Bengal.
Dimple Yadav: Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav, contested from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, a family bastion. She faces BJP minister Jaiveer Singh and BSP’s Shiv Prasad Yadav.
Pralhad Joshi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi contests from Dharwad, Karnataka, in a bid for his fifth consecutive term. The BJP leader faces tough competition from Congress’s Vinod Asooti.
Badruddin Ajmal: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) President Badruddin Ajmal, one of the wealthiest candidates in Assam, contested from Dhubri. He is known for his business ventures in the perfume industry.
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Voter Turnout
Today’s approximate voter turnout was recorded at 61.72%. Assam recorded the highest voter turnout at 75.3%, keeping up with the previous higher voter turnouts in the first two phases from the north eastern states.
In the North, West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 73.93%. Lowest number of votes were cast from Maharashtra, recorded at 54.98% only. From the Southern states, Goa performed quite well with 74.32% voters exercising their voting right.
The 2024 Phase 3 voter turnout was comparatively lower than 2019, which was at 67.33% across these 93 constituencies. Phase 3 performance was no better than the first two phases.
