New Delhi, May 7: 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 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 1,300 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.
The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4.
08:46 07 May
Modi congratulates EC for conducting first two phases of LS polls almost violence-free
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls with hardly any violence and asked the people to come out in large numbers to vote.
“Matdaan is Mahadaan (voting is a great gift). I appeal to the people to vote in large numbers,” Modi told reporters after casting his vote at a polling booth in Ranip area of Ahmedabad city under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat.
“I congratulate the Election Commission for conducting the first two phases of elections almost violence-free. I also congratulate the Election Commission for conducting the polls in a voter-friendly manner,” he said.
People across India should celebrate this ongoing “festival of democracy” by voting in large numbers, the PM said.
08:10 07 May
Prominent leaders
Prominent leaders to contest in today's poll battle include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, among others.
08:09 07 May
PM Modi votes at polling booth in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency
