STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: A nearly 62 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Tuesday in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories with stray incidents of violence in West Bengal.
Assam recorded the highest turnout at 75.53 per cent followed by Goa at 74.47 per cent and West Bengal at 73.93 per cent, while Maharashtra witnessed the lowest at 55.54 per cent, with Bihar at 56.55 per cent and Gujarat at 56.98 per cent doing slightly better, according to the figures from the Election Commission at 9 pm.
The overall voting percentage was around 61.89 per cent. According to the EC, the figures are an “approximate trend” and are likely to rise as data is being collected.
While the official time for the voting to conclude is 6 pm, it can go beyond to enable voters who have come in the queue before the end of fixed polling hours to exercise their franchise.
Among other states and UTs, Uttar Pradesh recorded 57.34 per cent polling, Chhattisgarh 67.64 per cent, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 65.23 per cent, Karnataka 68.85 per cent, and Madhya Pradesh 64.02 per cent, according to the EC.
As many as 17.24 crore people, including 8.39 crore females, were eligible to vote in the third phase and 1.85 lakh polling stations manned by 18.5 lakh officials had been set up.
With this, voting has been completed in 282 seats out of 543.
The overall voting percentage in the first and second phases was 66.14 per cent and 66.71 per cent respectively.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among those who exercised their franchise in Gujarat, where elections were held in 25 seats. While PM Modi cast his vote at a polling booth in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Shah voted at a polling booth in Ahmedabad.
Shah (Gandhinagar) is among the bigwigs in the fray along with Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
The stakes are high for the BJP in this round as it had won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, in the last election.
Both the BJP and the INDIA bloc claimed that they had the upper hand after the third phase.
“Across all the states and UTs, voters from all walks of life have placed their faith in the NDA and our development agenda. INDI Alliance is losing even more steam, thanks to their regressive economics and outdated votebank politics,” Modi said on X. The Congress claimed that the BJP has been wiped out in the south and reduced to half of its strength after the three phases
“It’s very clear that for the BJP, it is South mein Saaf, North mein Half,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X.
In Uttar Pradesh, where several members of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family are contesting, party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP workers were trying to “loot booths” in Mainpuri and people from opposition parties were being detained in police stations.
Yadav cast his vote in Saifai (Etawah) in Mainpuri constituency where his wife and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is contesting.
Sporadic incidents of violence marred the polling in the four constituencies in West Bengal as TMC, BJP and Congress-CPI(M) workers clashed with each other in various parts of Murshidabad and Jangipur seats.
According to state election officials, Murshidabad registered the highest voter turnout of 76.49 per cent followed by Maldaha Dakshin (73.68 pc), Maldaha Uttar (73.30 pc), and Jangipur (72.13 pc).
The TMC, BJP, and the Congress-CPI(M) alliance lodged separate complaints related to poll violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents.
The EC received 182 complaints by 9 am, most of which were from Murshidabad and Jangipur constituencies.
In Murshidabad seat, Left-Congress combine candidate Mohammed Salim claimed that he caught a “fake booth agent” in the Rabinagar area of the constituency. Salim faced “go back” slogans as he tried to enter a booth there.
“The TMC has unleashed a reign of terror in the entire constituency. Strict action must be taken by the Election Commission,” Salim said.
In the Karimpur area of the seat, clashes were reported between the TMC and the CPI(M) supporters outside a few booths.
Clashes were reported between the TMC and the Congress activists from the Domkol area.
BJP candidate Dhanajoy Ghosh faced protests by TMC cadres in the Jangipur area as he tried to enter some of the booths in the constituency.
A scuffle broke out between Dhananjay Ghosh and TMC block president Goutam Ghosh, with both parties accusing each other of intimidating voters.
In the Englishbazar area in Maldaha Dakshin seat, the BJP accused the TMC of beating up their booth agents, similar complaints were lodged by the Congress against the state’s ruling party from the Ratua area in Malda.
In some areas, TMC workers held protests alleging that central forces were assisting BJP workers in “intimidating” voters at booths in the Maldaha North constituency.
In Uttar Pradesh, Agra witnessed 53.99 per cent polling, Aonla 57.08 per cent, Budaun 54.05 per cent, Bareilly 57.88 per cent, Etah 59.17 per cent, Fatehpur Sikri 57.09 per cent, Firozabad 58.22 per cent, Hathras 55.36 per cent, Mainpuri 58.59 per cent and Sambhal 62.81 per cent.