More than 39% voter turnout was recorded across 11 states and union territories till 1 pm on May 7 in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election.
West Bengal recorded the highest turnout with 49.27%, followed by Goa at 49.04%, Madhya Pradesh at 44.67% and Chhattisgarh at 46.14%. Maharashtra continued to register low voter turnout with 31.55%.
Voting for 93 constituencies began at 7 am. Over 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray.
All eyes are on Gujarat, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP had won an overwhelming majority of these seats.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah who is contesting from the Gandhinagar constituency, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, Mansukh Mandaviya from Porbandar, and Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad.
More than 17 crore people, including 8.39 crore females, are eligible to vote and 1.85 lakh polling stations manned by 18.5 lakh officials have been set up.
With the BJP bagging Surat unopposed, 25 seats in Prime Minister Modi's home state of Gujarat will go to polls on May 7, besides 11 seats in Maharashtra, 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the remaining 14 of the 28 in Karnataka, seven in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, four each in Assam and West Bengal, and all two in Goa.
The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2 seats) and nine seats in Madhya Pradesh, including Betul where elections were deferred, will also go to polls on Tuesday.
PM Modi and Shah will cast their vote at booths in Ahmedabad city under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) and Digvijaya Singh (Rajgarh) have also returned to the Lok Sabha electoral fray this time.
A riveting contest is on in Maharashtra's Baramati between Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, wife of the veteran leader’s estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
In Uttar Pradesh, the current phase is important for the Mulayam Singh Yadav family, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav aiming to retain the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.
(With PTI inputs)
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