Fresh clashes in Gujarat and Maharashtra as Third Round of Lok Sabha Elections Commences

As the third phase of Lok Sabha elections commenced on Sunday across 93 constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah cast their votes in Ahmedabad. While voting in 10 states proceeded smoothly, disturbances were reported in West Bengal’s Jangipur constituency.

After casting his vote at a polling booth in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, PM Modi addressed the media, emphasizing the importance of voting and reminding citizens that four more rounds of voting are yet to take place. He was accompanied by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is the BJP’s candidate for the Gandhinagar constituency and is seeking re-election.

In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, the NCP candidate from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar also cast their votes. Over 17 crore voters are expected to cast their votes across 93 constituencies, which include 72 general seats, 10 reserved for Scheduled Castes, and 11 for Scheduled Tribes.

Here are the top 10 highlights of Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections:

1. PM Modi cast his vote at the Nishan Public School polling booth in Ahmedabad’s Ranip locality as soon as polling began at 7 AM. He interacted with the large crowd gathered outside the polling station and shared a light moment with a child. He advised people to stay hydrated due to the ongoing heatwave.
2. In West Bengal’s Jangipur, clashes erupted following a heated exchange between BJP candidate Dhananjay Ghosh and a local TMC worker at a polling booth. The TMC accused the BJP candidate of attempting to sway voters.
3. Phase 3 will see voting in 93 seats across Assam (4), 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 (2).
4. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections’ Phase 3, the BJP won 72 out of 94 seats. The Congress and Shiv Sena each won 4 seats, Janata Dal (United) and Nationalist Congress party each won 3 seats, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress each won 2 seats, and Lok Janshakti Party won 1 seat. Independents claimed the remaining two seats.
5. Key candidates in Phase 3 include BJP’s Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha, Purushottam Rupala from Rajkot, Jagadish Shettar from Belgaum, Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri, and BY Raghavendra from Shivamogga.
6. From the Opposition, Samajwadi Party’s Dimple Yadav is contesting from Mainpuri, Congress’s Digvijaya Singh from Rajgarh, Geetha Shivarajkumar from Shivamogga, and Priyanka Jarikholi from Chikkodi.
7. The Baramati seat in Maharashtra will see a high-profile contest as Nationalist Congress Party leader and incumbent MP Supriya Sule will face off against Sunetra Pawar of the NCP faction led by her estranged cousin Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar, who split from the NCP and now controls the party name and symbol, has fielded his wife Sunetra from Baramati, a long-standing Pawar family stronghold.
8. According to the initial schedule, elections were to be held in 94 constituencies in the third phase. However, elections in Surat Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat were cancelled after BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal won uncontested as all his opponents either withdrew their names or had their candidature cancelled.
9. In addition to Surat, the election on the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir was deferred to May 25, which is Phase 6 of polling. This decision was made after the Election Commission was urged to postpone the polls due to “logistic, communication, and natural barrier of connectivity” hindering campaigning.
10. Voting will also take place on the Betul Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, which was originally scheduled to go to polls in Phase 2 on April 26. The polling was postponed following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Ashok Bhalavi.