New Delhi [India], May 6 : The third phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday involves some key seats whose outcome will have a direct bearing on the future of political families involved with the contest to form the next government at the Centre also crossing the half-way mark in terms of the seats covered.
Ninety-three seats spread across ten states and a union territory will go to polls on Tuesday after high-pitched campaigning that saw political temperatures soar amid the sweltering May heat.
The Election Commission has made adequate arrangements for the third phase of polls. Weather conditions are predicted to be within normal range. However, for convenience for voters, meticulous arrangements have been made at all polling stations including facilities like water, shamiyana, fans to deal with hot weather conditions, the poll panel said.
A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their franchise in this phase on 1.85 lakh polling stations. Seventy-five delegates from 23 countries will see poll process, the poll panel said.
Baramati in Maharashtra, Gulbarga in Karnataka and Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh are among seats on which the contest is being closely watched by people.
Baramati, where NCP veteran Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule is facing the challenge from her cousin Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar, will have a bearing on the political stakes in the Pawar family.
The contest in Gulbarga has immense significance for Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani is in the fray. Kharge lost the seat in 2019.
Mainpuri will see Dimple Yadav, wife of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, reclaiming the parliamentary seat she won last time in the bypoll.
Other key leaders in the fray for polls on Tuesday include Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna in Madhya Pradesh and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Digvijaya Singh from Vidisha and Rajgarh respectively.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is re-contesting from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Badruddin Ajmal is in the fray from Assam's Dhubri.
All 26 constituencies of Gujarat will vote in a single phase tomorrow. Two constituencies of Goa will also vote in the third phase of elections.
Voting will not take place for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the polling to the sixth phase to be held on May 25.
Originally, voting was scheduled to be held on 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase. However elections were rescheduled from the second to the third phase in the Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh due to the death of the BSP candidate, the BJP candidate in Surat has been declared the winner unopposed and due to revised polling schedule in Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the total seats now going to poll are 93.
Voting was held in 102 seats in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls and on 88 seats in the second phase.
Uttar Pradesh: Some of the seats going to the polls in Uttar Pradesh in the third phase are Samajwadi Party strongholds. Ten constituencies - Sambhal, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Aonla and Bareilly - will go the polls on Tuesday.
BJP had won Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Fatehpur Sikri, Etah, Badaun, Bareilly and Aonla in the 2019 elections and the SP had won the Mainpuri and Sambhal seats. Sixteen of total 80 constituencies have already voted in the first two phases in the politically crucial state.
1. In Sambhal, Samajwadi Party's Zia Ur Rahman is facing BJP's Parmeshwar Lal Saini and the BSP's Chaudhary Saulat Ali.
2. In Hathras, SP's Jasveer Valmiki is facing Anoop Pradhan of the BJP and Shiv Prasad Yadav of the BSP.
3. In Mainpuri, sitting MP Dimple Yadav is in fray against Jaiveer Singh of the BJP.
4. In Firozabad, BJP's Vishwadeep Singh is contesting against SP's Akshay Yadav who is the nephew of late Mulayam Singh Yadav and the son of SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav. BSP has fielded Chowdhary Basheer.
5 In Badaun, Aditya Yadav, son of SP leader Shivpal Yadav is making his poll debut and will face Durvijay Singh Shakya of the BJP and BSP's Muslim Khan.
6. In Agra, a reserved seat Union Minister Satyapal Singh Baghel is facing Suresh Chandra Kardam of SP
7. In Fatehpur Sikri, incumbent MP Rajkumar Chahar of the BJP is pitted against retired Ramnath Sikarwar as the Opposition INDIA bloc candidate. Current BJP MLA from Fatehpur Sikri Chaudhary Babulal has fielded his son Rameshwar Chaudhary as an independent from the seat. BSP has fielded Ramnivas Sharma from the seat.
8. In Etah, BJP leader Rajveer Singh, also known as Raju Bhaiya who is the son of two-time chief minister Kalyan Singh, is hoping for a third time win against Devesh Shakya fielded by SP.
9. In Bareilly, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar of BJP is contesting Praveen Singh Aron for SP.
10. In Aonla, Durvijay Singh Shakya from BJP and Neeraj Maurya of the SP and Abid Ali of BSP are in fray.
Gujarat: The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave all 26 seats to the BJP in the last two Lok Sabha polls and the party is keen on a hat-trick. AAP made its presence felt in the last assembly polls and has put up candidates in alliance with Congress.
BJP's candidate for the Surat Lok Sabha seat, Mukesh Dalal, has been declared the winner without contest as nomination papers of Congress candidate were rejected and other contestants pulled out. All constituencies of Gujarat will vote in a single phase tomorrow.
1. Ahmedabad East - Congress' Himmatsinh Prahladsinh Patel is pitted against BJP's Hasmukhbhai Patel
2. Ahmedabad West - A reserved seat where two Makwanas are fighting for dominance - Dinesh Kodarbhai Makwana from the BJP and Bharat Makwana from the Congress.
3. Amreli - BJP's Bharatbhai Manubhai Sutariya is pitted against Congress' Jenny Thummar
4. Ananad - In 'Milk capital of India' and home to dairy giant Amul, Congress is pinning hopes on Amit Chavda against BJP's sitting MP Mitesh Patel.
5. Banaskantha - The only Gujarat constituency where both BJP and Congress have fieled women candidates, two-term MLA Geniben Nagaji Thakor of the Congress, known as the 'giant killer' for defeating the sitting assembly speaker in 2017, will take on BJP's Rekhaben Hiteshbhai Chaudhari, an engineering professor making her poll debut.
6. Bardoli - Known for Satyagraha led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi in opposition to the British government's 22 per cent tax increase on farmers in the Bombay Presidency, is a reserved seat for Schedule Tribes. Key candidates are Congress' Chaudhary Siddharth Amarsinh and BJP's Prabhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava.
7. Bharuch - Voters will have to double-check the party symbol when they vote as it is Vasava vs Vasava vs Vasava. BJP leader Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava is pitted against AAP's Chaitarbhai Damjibhai Vasava and Bharatiya Adivasi Party's Dilipbhai Chhotubhai Vasava.
8. Bhavnagar - BJP's Nimuben Bambhania is in fray against AAP's Umesh Makwana.
9. Chota Udaipur - Scheduled Tribes reserved constituency candidates in fray are BJP's Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva and Congress' Sukhrambhai Hariyabhai Rathwa.
10. Dahod - Congress' Prabhaben Kishorsinh Taviyad will fight against BJP's Jasvantsinh Bhabhor.
11. Gandhinagar - Earlier represented by BJP stalwart LK Advani, BJP is seeking record win for Home Minister Amit Shah in his second contest from the seat. He won in 2019 and Congress has fielded it Gujarat women's wing chairperson Sonal Ramanbhai Patel.
12. Jamnagar - Congress has fielded JP Maraviya against BJP candidate Poonamben Rajeshbhai Maadam.
13. Junagadh - BJP has fielded sitting MP Chudasama Rajeshbhai Naranbhai against Congress' Jotva Hirabhai Arjanbhai.
14. Kachchh - BJP has fielded incumbent MP Chavda Vinod Lakhamashi against Congress' Nitesh Parbatbhai Lalan.
15. Kheda - BJP's Devusinh Chauhan is in fray against Kalusinh Dabhi of Congress.
16. Mahsena - BJP's Haribhai Patel is fighting against Congress' Ramji Thakor.
17. Navsari - BJP state president CR Paatil is engaged in a fierce battle against Congress's Naishadbhai Bhupatbhai Desai.
18. Panchmahal - BJP has put its faith on Rajpalsinh Mahendrasinh Jadav against Congress' Gulabsinh SomSinh Chauhan.
19. Patan - BJP's sitting MP Dabhi Bharatsinhji Shankarji is pitted against Congress' Chandanji Talaji Thakor.
20. Porbandar - Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya of the BJP is taking on prominent state Congress leader Lalit Vasoya.
21. Rajkot - BJP's Parshottam Rupala, whose remarks led to protests from members of Kshatriya community, is facing off against Congress' Paresh Dhanani.
22. Sabarkantha - BJP is seeking fourth straight win and has fielded Shobhanben Mahendrasinh Baraiya against Congress' Chaudhari Tushar Amarsinh.
23. Surendranagar - Rutvikbhai Lavjibhai Makwana of the Congress is pitted against BJP's Chandubhai Chhaganbhai Shihora, who replaced sitting MP Dr Mahendra Munjapara.
24. Vadodra - In third-largest city of Gujarat, BJP's Hemang Yogeshchandra Joshi is pitted against Congress' Jashpalsinh Padhiyar.
25. Valsad - Congress has fielded Anantkumar Hasmukhbhai Patel against BJP's Dhaval Laxmanbhai Patel.
Madhya Pradesh: Voting for nine Lok Sabha constituencies in the Hindi heartland will be held from 7 am to 6 pm tomorrow. These include Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal and Rajgarh. There are a total of 29 total Lok Sabha seats in the state.
In the first phase of voting on April 19, voters on six seats excercised their franchise - Chhindwara, Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, and Balaghat. The second phase saw seven seats voting on April 26 - Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad and Betul.
1. In Vidisha, a BJP bastion, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the longest-serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is facing Congress veteran Pratap Bhanu Sharma.
2. In Guna, considered a stronghold of the Scindias, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is contesting against Congress' Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav who was earlier with the BJP.
3. In Rajgarh, former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh is pitted against incumbent MP Rodmal Nagar of the BJP.
4. In Bhopal, Alok Sharma of the BJP is pitted against Arun Shrivastava.
5. In Morena, BJP has nominated Shivmangal Singh Tomar to contest against Congress' Neetu Satyapal Singh Sikarwar.
6. In the Bhind reserved seat in the Chambal region, Congress has fielded Phool Singh Baraiya while BJP has retained its candidate Sandhya Ray, who had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
7. In Gwalior, Bharat Singh Kushwah is pitted against Congress' Praveen Pathak
8. In Sagar, Lata Wankhede of the BJP is contesting against Guddu Raja Bundela from the Congress
Chhattisgarh: Voting for seven parliamentary constituencies will be held in the third phase of elections. With this polls all 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state will have voted has been with voting held on four seats in first two phases.
1. In Raipur, State Minister Brijmohan Agrawal of the BJP is contesting former MLA Vikas Upadhyay of the Congress
2. In Durg, sitting MP Vijay Baghel of the BJP is pitted against Rajendra Sahu of the Congress
3. In Bilaspur, Tokhan Sahu of the BJP is contesting Devender Singh Yadav of the Congress
4. In Korba, former MP Saroj Pandey of the BJP is facing sitting MP Jyotsna Mahant of the Congress
5. In Janjgir-Champa, Kamlesh Jangde of the BJP is pitted against former state minister Shivkumar Dahariya of the Congress
6. In tribal-dominated Raigarh, Radheshyam Rathia of BJP is in fray against erstwhile royal family's Menka Devi Singh of the Congress
7. In Sarguja, Chintamani Maharaj of the BJP, who defected from Congress, is contesting Shashi Singh of the Congress.
Assam: Four seats are in fray in Assam during the third phase of polling tomorrow. Elections to 10 Lok Sabha seats in Assam took place in the first two phases.
BJP is contesting 11 parliamentary constituencies, leaving two seats for its key ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and one seat for United People's Party Liberal (UPPL).
1. In Dhubri, sitting MP and AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal is contesting against Congress candidate and former Minister Rakibul Hussain and AGP candidate Zabed Islam.
2. In Barpeta, eight-time MLA and former Minister Phani Bhushan Choudhury is contesting as AGP candidate against Congress candidate Deep Bayan and CPI (M) candidate and sitting MLA Manoranjan Talukdar.
3. In Kokrajhar, UPPL candidate and sitting MLA Joyanta Basumatary is contesting against BPF candidate Kampa Borgoyari and Congress candidate Garjan Mashahary.
4. In Guwahati, BJP candidate Bijuli Kalita Medhi is contesting against Congress candidate and president of Assam Mahila Congress Mira Borthakur Goswami
Bihar: The Hindi heartland state will see voting in five parliamentary constituencies.
1. In Jhanjharpur, Suman Kumar of the VIP is the INDIA bloc candidate against Ramprit Mandal of the JD(U). Mandal is the NDA candidate from the seat.
2. In Supaul, Chandrahas Chaupal of the RJD (INDIA bloc) is contesting against Dileshwar Kamait of the JD(U).
3. In Araria, Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam of RJD is pitted against Pradeep Kumar Singh of the BJP.
4. In Madhepura, Chandradeep of the RJD is facing Dinesh Chandra Yadav of the JD(U).
5. In Khagaria, Sanjay Kumar Kushwaha of the CPM (INDIA bloc) is facing Rajesh Verma of the LJP(Ram vilas) (NDA alliance)
Karnataka: The high-pitched battle in Karnataka will see 14 seats in north and central Karnataka regions go to the polls. Fourteen seats including in the South Karnataka's Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysore region and the coastal constituencies went to the polls on April 25. Polling on all 28 Lok Sabha seats will be completed in Karnataka tomorrow.
Bijapur, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bellary, Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bidar, Koppal, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere and Shivamogga are the constituencies which will go to the polls tomorrow.
1. In Bagalkot, which holds a crucial place in the state politics Sitting MP P C Gaddigoudar from BJP is contesting against Samyukta Shivanand Patil from the Congress, who is making her debut.
2. In Shivamogga, BS Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP BY Raghavendra will be taking on Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is the daughter of former chief minister late S Bangarappa. Geetha is also the wife of Kannada actor Shivaraj Kumar. Former BJP minister Eshwarappa is contesting as an independent candidate from Shivamogga.
3. In Haveri, former chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai is pitted against Congress candidate Anandaswamy Gaddadevaramath, who is the son of former MLA GS Gaddadevarmath.
4. In Gulbarga, Congress has fielded Radhakrishna Doddamani, son-in-law of Mallikrajun Kharge to take on BJP's Umesh Jadhav, the sitting MP.
5. In Dharwad, union minister Pralhad Joshi is seeking another victory and is facing Congress youth leader Vinod Asooti.
Maharashtra: The polls will decide which among the two factions of the Shiv Sena and of NCP hold sway among voters. Both parties have seen splits.
1. In Baramati, Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar is taking on incumbent Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar. The keenly fought battle will decide the fate of Ajit Pawar after his rebellion against his uncle.
2. In Dharashiv, Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar of Congress, a sitting MLA, is pitted against Archana Patil of BJP.
3. Latur will witness incumbent BJP MP Sudhakar Shrungare locking horns with a newcomer Dr Shivaji Kalge, a well-known doctor in the area, from the Congress.
4. Solapur: Congress MLA Praniti Shinde is taking on BJP MLA Ram Satpute on the reserved seat.
5. In Sangli, BJP's incumbent MP Sanjaykaka Patil is pitted against former wrestler Chandrahar Patil of Shiv Sena (UBT).
6. In Kolhapur, Shahu Maharaj Chhatrapati, descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj of Congress is pitted against Shiv Sena's incumbent MP Sanjay Mandlik.
West Bengal: After a hectic campaign that saw allegations fly thick and fast between BJP and Trinamool Congress, a fierce contest is on the cards.
Murshidabad is heading into polls in the upcoming third phase of the Lok Sabha elections tomorrow along with Jangipur, Malda Uttar and Malda Dakshin.
1. Murshidabad seat will witness a triangular contest between Abu Taher Khan of Trinamool Congress, Gouri Sankar Ghosh of the Bharatiya Janata Party and MD Salim of CPI (M). Abu Taher Khan, the incumbent MP is looking to retain his seat.
2. In Maldaha Dakshin, a three-cornered contest is expected between the BJP, TMC and the Congress. The ruling TMC has fielded anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) activist Shanawaz Ali Raihan. Congress nominee is Isha Khan Choudhury, whose father Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury is sitting MP. Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhur is BJP candidate.
3. In Maldaha Uttar, BJP has fielded sitting MP Khagen Murmu, who was formerly with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is pitted against TMC's Prasun Banerjee, a former IPS officer.
4. Jangipur will witness a three-cornered fight between sitting MP and TMC leader Khalilur Rahaman, BJP's Dhananjay Ghosh and Congress' Mortaja Hossain.
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Kalaben Delkar as its candidate from the union territory. She recently switched allegiance from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction to join the BJP. Ajit Rambhai Mahla is Congress candidate.
Goa: The Congress and BJP had won one seat each in the 2019 polls and the contest in North Goa and South Goa is equally interesting in this election.
In North Goa, Shripad Yesso Naik, who defeated Congress leader Girish Chodankar in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is seeking sixth consecutive win. The Congress has fielded former deputy CM of Goa Ramakant Khalap
In South Goa, the BJP has fielded Pallavi Dempo, the executive director of Dempo Industries, against Congress's Viriato Fernandes.