Phase 3 voting in 94 constituencies on May 7th; PM Modi, Amit Shah to cast vote from Gujarat

NEW DELHI: The third phase of elections is all set to take place on Tuesday with 1,300 candidates, including 120 women seeking people's mandate. Polling will be held in 94 constituencies across 10 states and Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. This includes Madhya Pradesh's Betul constituency, where voting in the second phase was postponed after a candidate died.

The BJP candidate was elected unopposed in Gujarat's Surat, where polling was supposed to be held today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will vote in Gujarat on Tuesday.

The third phase comes amid BJP's moves to polarize the Hindu votes, the opposition's reservation ‘ideologies’ and the sex tape controversy in Karnataka. The sexual allegations against JDS leader Prajwal Revanna have put ally BJP on the defensive in Karnataka. In 2019, the BJP had swept all 14 seats where polling is going to take place on Tuesday.

The campaign also saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming Congress's caste reservation as a 'property grab'. The opposition meanwhile made a weapon out of the PM’s remark and termed it as an explicit attack on the Muslim community.

The Election Commission had expressed concern over the low turnout in the first two phases. It is estimated that the heavy heat across the country is dragging down the voter turnout in the elections. The polling was 66.14 per cent in 102 seats in the first phase and 66.71 per cent in 88 seats in the second phase.

Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar are clashing in Maharashtra's Baramati in one of the highlight clashes of Tuesday. In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav and BJP's Jaiveer Singh are in a head-to-head battle to retain Mainpuri, former chief minister late Mulayam Singh Yadav's constituency.

Constituencies

Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Uttar Pradesh (10), Madhya Pradesh (9), Chhattisgarh (7), Bihar (5), Assam (4), West Bengal (4), Goa (2), Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman Diu (2). Jammu Kashmir (1).