New Delhi: Voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 took place in 116 constituencies across 13 States and 2 Union Territories. The states which went to polls in phase 3 were Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Union Territories Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The polling concluded at 6 PM.
The election commission had postponed polling in East Tripura from April 18 to April 23 after it found that law and order situation there was not conducive for holding free and fair polls.
The star candidates included BJP chief Amit Shah from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar and Congress president Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad. Other heavyweights included Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Congress veterans Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor and BJP leaders Anantkumar Hegde and Sambit Patra.
Key details about states and UTs which voted on Phase 3 elections:
Gujarat: The 26 Lok Sabha constituencies which went to polls during Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha polls include Kachchh, Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhota Udaipur, Bharuch, Bardoli, Surat, Navsari and Valsad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi exercised his franchise in Ahmedabad, a part of Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency. BJP Chief Shah cast his vote from Naranpura area in Ahmedabad. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, representing the BJP from Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha, was scheduled to cast his vote in the western part of Ahmedabad later in the day.
In 2014, BJP had registered victory on all 26 seats.
Besides Lok Sabha, By-elections were also underway on four Assembly seats –Dhrangadhra, Manavadar, Unjha and Jamnagar (Rural) of Gujarat. The seats fell vacant following the resignation of sitting Congress MLAs who later joined the ruling BJP. Dhrangadhra, Manavadar, Unjha and Jamnagar (Rural) Assembly segments fall under Lok Sabha constituencies of Surendranagar, Porbandar, Mehsana and Jamnagar, respectively.
Kerala: 20 Parliamentary constituencies including Kasaragod, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram voted in Kerala on Tuesday.
Maharashtra: Fourteen seats including Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Raigad, Pune, Baramati, Ahmadnagar, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle voted in Maharashtra.
Uttar Pradesh: 10 Lok Sabha seats including Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Budaun, Aonla, Bareilly and Pilibhit went to the polls on Tuesday.
West Bengal: Voting took place in five LS seats- Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur and Murshidabad
Odisha: Six Lok Sabha seats which went to polls were Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar.
Karnataka: 14 Parliamentary constituencies –Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Haveri, Bellary, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere and Shimoga voted in the third phase
Jammu and Kashmir: Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama of Anantnag parliamentary constituency voted on Tuesday.
Goa: Two parliamentary constituencies; North Goa and South Goa voted on Tuesday.
Chhattisgarh: Seven parliamentary constituencies Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, Korba and Sarguja avoted on Tuesday.
Bihar: Five parliamentary constituencies Jhanjharpur, Supaul, Araria, Madhepura and Khagaria voted on Tuesday. The main political parties here includes BJP, RJD, Congress, Lok Janshakti Party, Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United).
Assam: Parliamentary constituencies of Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Guwahati voted on Tuesday.
UTs Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu with their sole Lok Sabha seat voted on Tuesday.