The estimated voter turnout, according the Election Commission across all states and union territories, for the Lok Sabha Elections in phase 3 was at 63.04%. The final figure are still awaited.
Voter turnout in different states:
Assam 74.65%
Bihar 59.97%
Goa 71.09%
Gujarat 60.48%
J&K 12.86%
Karnataka 64.15%
Kerala 70.20%
Maharashtra 56.25%
Odisha 58.18%
Tripura 78.37%
Uttar Pradesh 57.64%
West Bengal 79.36%
Chhattisgarh 65.14%
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 71.43%
Daman & Diu 65.34%
The Congress said they have approached the Election Commission over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech after he cast his vote in Ahmedabad. Modi also approached the polling booth in an open jeep, waving at the crowds lined up on both sides of the street. Modi also interacted with voters inside the polling booth and then walked on the street holding up his inked finger.
“Today after casting his vote, PM took out a long procession and delivered a speech. There has never been such a clear violation of MCC. We appealed to EC to bar him from campaigning for 48-72 hours,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
Mamata's complainat against central forces
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the central forces were working for the BJP by asking voters in Maldaha Dakshin and Balurghat constituencies to cast their votes for the saffron party. Pointing out that the central forces do not have the right to ask voters to vote for BJP candidates, Banerjee said the Election Commission has been apprised of it.
Voting adjourned in two polling booths in Odisha
Voting was adjourned in two polling booths in Odisha because of wrong pairing of VVPAT machines. In a press statement, Odisha CEO Surendra Kumar said, “VVPAT meant for Parliamentary constituency was mistakenly attached to Control&Ballot Unit meant for Assembly constituency during replacement. Error was detected after 22 votes were polled.”
Fight in Kashmir
A reporter from Kashmir tweeted out a video that showed people fighting at a booth in Kashmir’s Bijbehara. The tweet said that the ruckus was between PDP and NC workers. Anantnag saw a very poor voter turnout, with Kashmiris refusing to come out and vote.
Violation of Model Code
The chief electoral officer in Uttar Pradesh has sought details from district magistrates after 11 candidates in fray for the third phase were found asking for votes on social media in the 48 hours before polls. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, five candidates of the BJP, four of the SP-BSP alliance and two of the Congress have been found using social media in the past 48 hours, even though the electioneering period had ended.
Violence in West Bengal
West bengal saw widespread clashes between party workers. One person has been reportedly killed in clashes between BJP and Congress workers in Baligram in West Bengal’s Murshidabad. Earlier in the day, TMC and BJP workers razed each other’s camp offices in Motigunj. When polling started there were reports that crude bombs had also been hurled at TMC workers in Murshidabad’s Domkal municipality, injuring three. According to reports from Motiganj in North 24 Parganas saw clashes between BJP and TMC workers. The report said that TMC workers reportedly ransacked BJP’s camp office and then BJP workers did the same to the TMC camp office in the area.
Phase 3 not only saw some star candidates like Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BJP President Amit Shah, it will also see some star voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi registered his vote from a booth in the Ranip area of Ahmedabad, which falls under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh voted from Guwahati. LK Advani, Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley also voted in Ahmedabad.
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All the seats in Gujarat (26), Kerala (20), Goa (2), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1) and Daman and Diu (1) went to the polls on Tuesday.
Maharashtra
The 14 seats went to polls in Maharashtra are Jalgaon, Raver (both in north Maharashtra), Jalna, Aurangabad (Marathwada), Raigad, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Konkan), Pune, Baramati, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Hathkanangale (western Maharashtra) and Ahmednagar (south Maharashtra). The prominent seats include Jalna, where state BJP president Raosaheb Danveis in the fray against Vilas Autade of the Congress. In Baramati Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, is contesting against BJP’s Kanchan Kul.
Odisha
In Odisha, prominent candidates are BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab who is seeking re-election from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat and sitting BJD MP from Puri Pinaki Mishra, who is fighting to retain the parliamentary constituency. In Puri, Pinaki Mishra is facing a stiff challenge from BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra. It has turned out to be an uphill task for Mahtab in Cuttack where the BJP has pitted retired IPS officer and former Director General of CRPF and ex-DGP of Odisha, Prakash Mishra against him.
Goa
Goa sends two MPs to the parliament, and right now both of them are from the BJP. The party has fielded sitting MPs Pad Yesso Naik and Narendra Keshav Sawaikar from North and South Goa respectively. After the death of Manohar Parrikar, the Goa BJP has faced a leadership crisis.
