Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 3 voting: The stage is set for the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the voting got underway on Tuesday, May 7. The polling is taking place across 94 Lok Sabha constituencies covering ten states and two union territories.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seats were also to be voted in the third phase of polling. However, due to several connectivity issues, the Election Commission of India rescheduled it to May 25.

All 26 constituencies of Gujarat will vote in a single phase alongside two constituencies in Goa. The remaining 14 constituencies of Karnataka, primarily in north Karnataka, are also slated for polling on Tuesday, concluding voting in the state.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Phase 3 polling date, timings, candidates and constituencies – All you need to know

In the third phase, polling will take place across 94 Lok Sabha constituencies covering 10 states and two UTs. The states in phase 3 include Assam (4 seats), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Goa (2), Gujarat (26), Karnataka (14), Madhya Pradesh (8), Maharashtra (11), Uttar Pradesh (10), West Bengal (4), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. With this phase, polling will conclude in Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa.

A total of 1,351 candidates from 12 states and UTs are set to contest in phase 3 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. This includes 8 candidates for the adjourned poll in the 29-Betul (ST) PC of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, one candidate from Surat parliamentary constituency in Gujarat has been elected unopposed. The deadline for withdrawal of candidature for all 12 states/UTs was April 22, 2024. A total of 2,963 nominations were filed for 95 PCs (including 29-Betul) across 12 states/UTs going for polls in phase 3 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The deadline for filing nominations for phase 3 for all 12 states/UTs was April 19, 2024. After scrutiny, 1,563 nominations were found to be valid.

Among the prominent contestants are Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna) Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad), Supriya Sule (Baramati), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Baharampur), Dimple Yadav (Mainpuri), Shripad Naik (North Goa), Badruddin Ajmal (Dhubri), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) and Digvijaya Singh (Rajgarh).

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Key candidates and constituencies going to polls in Phase 3

One of the most keenly-watched constituency battles in this phase will of course be the Pawar vs Pawar battle in Baramati. Nationalist Congress Party India (NCP) leader Supriya Sule, seeking re-election from Baramati, faces her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Baramati is a closely watched seat in Maharashtra.

Another high-stakes contest will be in Mainpuri where Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav, will take on BJP minister Jaiveer Singh and BSP’s Shiv Prasad Yadav in Yadavs’ family bastion.

The Guna fight between former Congress leader and BJP stalwart Jyotiraditya Scindia against Congress leader Rao Yadvendra Singh will also be an interesting battle of sorts.

The first phase of elections was held on April 19 and the second phase on April 26. After the third phase of polling, elections will conclude in 285 of the 543 seats. Voting for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases will be held on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 respectively. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Voter turnout in Phase 1 and 2 of the Lok Sabha elections dipped to 66.14 per cent and 66.71 per cent, respectively, according to the Election Commission, making a decrease from the 2019 polls, which saw turnouts of 69.43 per cent and 69.17 per cent in the first and second phases, respectively.