All set for third phase of polling for 93 seats on May 7

Over 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women are in fray, and over 11 crore people are eligible to vote; star candidates include Union Ministers Amit Shah, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mansukh Mandaviya and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh

Poll heat: Election officials leave to a polling booth at Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal on May 6, 2024. | Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui

A total of 93 Lok Sabha constituencies in 12 States will vote in the third phase of the general elections on May 7.

Initially, the Election Commission (EC) had announced 94 seats for polling in the third phase. After this though, polls in Betul were postponed to May 7, making it 95 constituencies.

However, soon thereafter, polls in Anantnag-Rajouri were postponed to May 25 and Surat, where voting was supposed to take place on May 7, elected a BJP candidate unopposed, thus reducing the number of seats going to polls to 93 in the third phase.

In the fray are over 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women. Over 11 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase.

The constituencies where voting would be held include 25 seats in Gujarat, 11 seats in Maharashtra, 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Karnataka, seven in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, four each in Assam and West Bengal and all two in Goa.

The star candidates include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh.

Battle in Baramati

Also on the table is the battle between veteran NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, wife of Mr. Pawar’s estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, from the family pocket borough of Baramati in Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is fighting to retain the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.

May 7 will also decide the fate of former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will cast their vote in Ahmedabad city under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

In 2019, the BJP had won 72 of the 93 seats while the Congress had won just five. In Karnataka, the BJP had swept all 14 seats, defeating the Congress and the JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the State then. However, this time, the BJP is wary of a sex scandal involving its Karnataka ally JD(S)’ candidate Prajwal Revanna.

After this phase, voting will be completed in 283 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. The next four phases will be on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Counting of votes is on June 4.