Over 61.66 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the third phase of polling on May 7 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The percentage is provisional and is expected to go up as and when the final voting percentage is made available. According to the Election Commission the polling was smooth and peaceful.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP leader Ajit Pawar, NCP-SP leaders Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, and Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav were among the prominent politicians who voted on Tuesday. Polling in over 93 constituencies across 11 states and union territories was held in the third phase with a total of 1,351 candidates in the fray.
Voting in a single phase was held across Gujarat, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. Polling for four seats in Assam, eight in Madhya Pradesh, four in West Bengal, seven in Chhattisgarh, 11 in Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, five in Bihar, and 14 in Karnataka was also held on Tuesday.
Over 110 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots during the third phase. PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah cast their votes at polling booths in Gujarat's Ahmedabad in the initial hours of polling.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his wife as well as party candidate Sunetra Pawar voted in Maharashtra's Baramati. Voting for J&K's Anantnag-Rajouri seat was deferred by the Election Commission from 7 May to 25 May.
As voting in the third round of the Lok Sabha elections drew to a close, an approximate voter turnout of 61.66 per cent was recorded, according to the Election Commission.
A voter turnout of 66.14 per cent and 66.71 per cent were recorded respectively during the first two phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as per a press release by the poll body.
State-wise voter turnout:
Assam: 74.86%; Bihar: 56.01%; Chhattisgarh: 66.87%; Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu: 65.23%; Goa: 72.52%; Gujarat: 55.22%; Karnataka: 66.05%; Madhya Pradesh: 62.28%; Maharashtra: 53.40%; Uttar Pradesh: 55.13%; West Bengal: 73.93%
Women protesters boycott polling in Bengal's Malda
A group of women in West Bengal's Malda boycotted polling during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections and sat on a protest over developmental issues in their area, according reports.
High-stakes battle
Gandhinagar- Union home minister Amit Shah of BJP will take on Sonal Patel of Congress here. Among the past winners from here are Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani. Amit Shah contested the Lok Sabha election from here in 2019 and won by a margin of 560,000 votes.
Porbandar- Key contestants are Mansukh Mandaviya of BJP and Lalit Vasoya of Congress. BJP has fielded union health minister Mandaviya from this seat, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. Mandaviya term in the Rajya Sabha ended this April.
Guna- Jyotiraditya Scindia of BJP will take on Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav of Congress. Scindia is trying to reclaim a seat that always voted for the royals, irrespective of political affiliation.
Rajgarh- Rodmal Nagar of BJP will take on veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh here. Rodmal was the winner in 2019.
Vidisha- Shivraj Singh Chouhan of BJP and Pratap Bhanu Sharma of Congress are the main contestants. BJP's Ramakant Bhargave was the winner in 2019 election.
Baramati- Supriya Sule of NCP (SCP) and Sunetra Pawar (NCP) are the main contestants. The winner of 2019 was Supriya Sule.
Ratnagiri -Sundhudurg- Narayan Rane of BJP and Vinayak Raut of UBT are the main contestants. The 2019 winner was Narayan Rane of BJP.
Agra - Key contestants are Pooja Amrohi (BSP), Suresh Chandra Kadam (SP-Cong) and Satya Pal Singh Baghel (BJP). The 2019 winner was Satya Pal Singh Baghel of BJP.
Mainpuri- Main contenders are Dimple Yadav (SP), Jaiveer Singh (BJP) and Shiv Prasad Yadav (BSP). The 2019 winner was Mulayam Singh Yadav of SP and after his death Dimple Yadav won the seat in bypoll held in 2022.
Malda North -The key contenders are Khagen Murmu (BJP), Prasun Banerjee (TMC) and Mostaque Alam (Cong). The 2019 winner was Khagen Murmu of BJP.
Murshidabad – Key contenders are Md Salim (CPI-M), Abu Taher Khan (TMC), Gouri Shankar Ghosh (BJP). The 2019 winner was Abu Taher Khan of TMC.
Satara – Key contenders are Shahshikant Shinde (NCP SCP), Udayanraje Bhonsle (BJP). The 2019 winner was Udayanraje Bhonsle; Shriniwas Patil after Bhonsle quit NCP.
Solapur – Key contenders are Praniti Shinde (Cong), Ram Satpute (BJP). The 2019 winner was Jai Siddheshwar Swami of BJP.
Kolhapur – The key contenders are Shahu Chhatrapati (Cong), Sanjay Mandlik (Shiv Sena). The 2019 winner was Sanjay Mandlik of Shiv Sena.
Guwahati – The key contenders are Bijuli Kalita Medhi (BJP), Mira Borthakur Goswami (Cong). The 2019 winner was Queen Oja of BJP.
Rajkot – Key contenders are Parshottam Rupala (BJP), Paresh Dhanani (Cong). The 2019 winner was Mohan Kundariya of BJP.
South Goa – The key contenders are Pallavi Dempo (BJP), Capt. Viriato Fernandes (Cong). The 2019 winner was Francisco Sardinha of Congress.
Madhepura – The key contenders are Dinesh Chandra Yadav (JDU) and Prof Kumar Chandradeep (RJD). The 2019 winner was Dinesh Chandra Yadav of JDU.
Dharwad – The key contenders are Prahlad Joshi (BJP), Vinod Asooti (Cong). The 2019 winner was Prahlad Joshi of BJP.
Gulbarga – Key contenders are Umesh Jadhav (BJP), Radhakrishna Doddamani (Cong). The 2019 winner was Umesh Jadhav of BJP.
Shimoga – Key contenders are B Y Raghavendra (BJP), Geetha Shivarajkumar (Cong). The 2019 winner was B Y Raghavendra of BJP.
Showcasing India's democracy to the world
A total of 75 delegates from 23 countries visited many polling stations to witness the poll process. The delegates also witnessed the process of dispatch of polling materials and machines to the polling teams and were appreciative of the magnitude, transparency and most importantly the festive mood of voters. Some of the delegates are from Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Mongolia and Israel.
Special arrangements were made to mitigate the effects of hot weather conditions, including the provision of shamiyana, drinking water, medical kits and fans for convenience of voters. The Commission had made special efforts to facilitate voting among the tribal groups with polling stations decorated in tribal culture and local themes. Women tribal voters came out along with children to cast their vote at polling stations. In Chhattisgarh, five generations of a family voted together at a polling station in Sarguja.
