Ahmedabad (Gujarat), May 7: After casting his vote in the third phase of Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised the importance of ‘Daan' in our country and said that India's election process and election management are examples for the world's democracies to learn from.
Speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, the Prime Minister urged the voters to cast their votes in large numbers.
“Today is voting for 3rd phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. I appeal to countrymen that they should vote in large numbers. In a democracy, ‘MatDaan' is not a routine exercise. There is great importance of ‘Daan' in our country and in the same spirit, the countrymen should vote as much as possible. 4 rounds of voting are still ahead. As a voter in Gujarat, this is the only place where I vote regularly and Amit Bhai is contesting from here as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. Last night, I arrived here from Andhra. I am here in Gujarat, and then I have to go to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana too. I won't be able to speak much but I want to thank the Gujarat voters and countrymen who cast their votes with great enthusiasm,” PM Modi said.
He further said that the elections are held in 64 countries and there should be a comparison of all of them.
“India's election process and election management are examples for the world's democracies to learn from. The world's biggest universities should do a case study. There are elections in around 64 countries and there should be a comparison of all of them. This year is like a celebration of democracy. All the media friends in India have more than 900 TV channels. There are more than 5,000 daily newspapers and they are completely coloured in the colours of elections. I again tell the countrymen to vote in large numbers and celebrate the festival of democracy,” he said.
He also urged the mediapersons to take care of their health and intake as much water as they can.
“You (media persons) are working day and night, so please take care of your health. During the election period, the media person has to run here and there. I want to appeal to all of you to take care of your health and drink a lot of water as much as you can,” he said.
The Prime Minister cast his vote at Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad, Gujarat for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Modi also shared a light-hearted moment with a child as he greeted people after casting his vote at a polling booth in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He also stopped on the way and waved to people and even signed a sketch of himself.
PM Modi, draped in his customary Kurta Payjama and saffron-coloured half jacket, also showed the indelible ink mark on his finger after casting his vote.
The polling started for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories in the third phase of the general election on Tuesday at 7:00 am.
The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.'
In this phase, more than 1300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray.
A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their franchise in this phase at 1.85 lakh polling stations. Seventy-five delegates from 23 countries will see the poll process, the poll panel said.
Voting will not take place for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the polling to the sixth phase to be held on May 25. Originally, voting was scheduled to be held on 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase.
However, elections were rescheduled from the second to the third phase in the Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh due to the death of the BSP candidate. The BJP candidate in Surat has been declared the winner unopposed and due to the revised polling schedule in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the total seats now going to poll are 93.
In 2019 general election the BJP won 72 of the 93 seats that go to the polls today.
The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4. (Agencies)
