Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah cast their votes in Ahmedabad on May 6, 2024 as the third phase of the Lok Sabha Elections on 93 constituencies kicked off on May 6. While polling in ten states has been peaceful so far clashes were reported in West Bengal’s Jangipur Constituency.
Speaking to media after casting his vote at a polling booth in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad PM Modi said, “Today is the third phase of voting. There is great importance of Daan in our country and in the same spirit, the countrymen should vote as much as possible. Four rounds of voting are still ahead.”
PM Modi was accompanied by the Union Minister Amit Shah, who is the BJP candidate in Gandhinagar constituency. Shah is seeking a second straight term as MP from Gandhinagar seat. In the state of Maharashtra, the Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, who is the NCP candidate from the Baramati Lok Sabha Seat and NCP chief Sharad Pawar cast their votes.
As of 11AM, 25.41 percent voter turnout across 12 states and Union Territories where polling was ongoing, according to the Election Commission of India data. West Bengal recorded the highest turnout at 32.82 percent while Maharashtra saw the lowest at 18.18 percent.
PM Modi voted at the polling booth at the Nishan Public School in Ranip locality of Ahmedabad city soon after the polling booth at 7AM. He greeted the large number of people outside the polling station and also shared a light hearted moment with a child in the crowd. Amid the ongoing heatwave, he advised the people to drink more water as it will be good for your health and will give you energy.
Clashes were reported in West Bengal’s Jangipur following a heated altercation between BJP candidate Dhananjay Ghosh and a local TMC worker at a polling booth. The TMC accused the BJP candidate of trying to influence voters. In Phase Three, the voting will take place on 93 seats in Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Goa (2), Gujarat (26), Karnataka (14), Madhya Pradesh (8), Maharashtra (11), Uttar Pradesh (10), West Bengal (4) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
In phase 3 of the Lok Sabha Elections held in 2019, the BJP won 72 out of 94 seats followed by the Congress and Shiv Sena each with 4 seats, Janata Dal (United) and Nationalist Congress Party with 3 seats each Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress with two seats each and Lok Janshakti party with one seat. The remaining two seats went to independents.
Key Candidates in Phase 3 include BJP’s Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, Shivraj Singh Chauhan from Vidisha Purshottam Rupala from Rajkot, Jagadish Shettar from Belgaum, Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri by Raghvendra Swami from Shivamogga. From the Opposition, the Samajwadi Party Dimple Yadav is in fray from Mainpuri, Congress’s Digvijay Singh from Rajgarh and Priyanka Jarikholi from Chikkodi.
The Baramati seat in Maharashtra will witness a big-ticket contest as the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar leader and sitting MP Supriya Sule will take on Sunetra Pawar of the NCP faction headed by her estranged cousin Ajit Pawar, who engineered a split in the NCP and now holds the party name and symbol has fielded his wife Sunetra from Baramati, a Pawar family bastion which was long represented by his uncle Sharad Pawar.
As per the election schedule, the election was to be held on 94 constituencies in the third phase. However, elections were cancelled in Surat Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat after BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal won uncontested as all his opponents withdrew their names and or their candidature was cancelled.
Besides Surat, the election on the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir was deferred to May 25, which is the Phase 6 of the polling. This came after the urged Election Commission to postpone the polls reasoning that logistic, communication and natural barrier of connectivity were becoming a hindrance in campaigning.
Voting will also be held on the Betul Lok Sabha Seat in Madhya Pradesh which was originally supposed to go to polls in the Phase Two on April 26. The polling was postponed following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party Candidate Ashok Bhalavi.
