Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi Enter The Arena In Lok Sabha Polls; Voting Underway For 116 Constituencies In Third Phase

The voting for the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is underway. As many as 116 constituencies in 13 states and two union territories (UTs) are going into the polls in this phase of the parliamentary elections on Tuesday (23 April).

In the third phase, which is the biggest of all the seven phases of general elections in terms of number of parliamentary seats, polling is being held in all constituencies of Gujarat (26) and Kerala (20), while Karnataka and Maharashtra will be having voting on 14 seats each, LiveMint has reported.

Among other states that are going for polling in this phase are Uttar Pradesh (10 seats), Chhattisgarh (7 seats), Odisha (6 seats), Bihar (5 seats), West Bengal (5 seats), Assam (4 seats), Goa (2 seats) and Tripura (1 seat). Besides, Anantnag constituency of Jammu and Kashmir will be going for polls in third, fourth and fifth phase of the elections, according to a statement by Election Commmission.

Apart from these 13 states, polling is being held in two UTs - Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1 seat) and Daman and Diu (1 seat).

High profile names like BJP President Amit Shah and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi are among the candidates contesting polls in this phase.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the voter casting their vote in this phase.

“Today third phase of polling is underway, I am fortunate that I also got the opportunity to fulfill my duty in my home state of Gujarat. Like you feel pure after a holy dip in Kumbh, one feels pure after casting vote in this festival of democracy,” PM Modi said after casting his vote in Ranip, Ahmedabad of Gujarat.

As per latest EC data, West Bengal recorded voter turnout of around 15 per cent while Bihar saw 12.6 percent polling till 9am.