Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3: West Bengal Leads With 49.27 % Voting Turnout While Maharashtra Records Lowest 31.55 % till 1 PM

Previously West Bengal is taking the lead in voter turnout during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, with a percentage of 14.60 recorded by 9:00 AM on Tuesday, according to data released by the Election Commission of India. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh is also experiencing a high voter participation rate of 14.22 percent. In contrast, Maharashtra has reported the lowest turnout so far at 6.64 percent by 9 AM.

At the same time, voting percentages in other states partaking in the third phase are as follows: Assam at 10.12 percent, Bihar at 10.03 percent, Chhattisgarh at 13.24 percent, Goa at 12.35 percent, Gujarat at 9.87 percent, Karnataka at 9.45 percent, and Uttar Pradesh at 12.13 percent. The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu recorded a voter turnout of 10.13 percent by 9 AM.

It’s noteworthy that the overall voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections exceeded 67 percent.

Polling commenced for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories in the third phase of the general election at 7:00 AM. Over 1300 candidates, including approximately 120 women, are contesting in this phase. The Election Commission stated that a total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this phase across 1.85 lakh polling stations. Moreover, 75 delegates from 23 countries will observe the polling process.

Several prominent leaders are participating in today’s electoral contest, including 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.

In the 2019 general election, the BJP secured victory in 72 out of the 93 seats contested in this phase.

However, voting will not occur for Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday, as the Election Commission of India has postponed polling to the sixth phase scheduled for May 25. Initially, voting was planned for 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase.

Furthermore, due to the demise of the BSP candidate, elections in the Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh were rescheduled from the second to the third phase. With the BJP candidate in Surat winning unopposed and the revised polling schedule for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the total seats going to poll in this phase are 93.

The Lok Sabha elections are being conducted across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4. The BJP, led by Narendra Modi, is seeking a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc aims to halt their momentum and potentially take over governance.