Phase 3: Around 60.19 per cent polling till 5 pm; clashes in West Bengal

Phase 3: Around 60.19 per cent polling till 5 pm; clashes in West Bengal

New Delhi: A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.

Assam recorded the highest turnout at 74.86 per cent followed by West Bengal at 73.93 per cent, while Maharashtra witnessed the lowest at 53.63 per cent, with Bihar doing slightly better at 56.01 per cent.

According to the Election Commission, a voting percentage of 60.19 was recorded till 5 pm. The voting started at 7 am. While the official time for voting to end is 6 pm, it can go beyond fixed polling hours to enable voters who have come in the queue well in time fixed for the close of poll to exercise their franchise.

A voter turnout of 55.22 per cent was recorded in 25 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat, an Election Commission (EC) official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among those who exercised their franchise in the state. While PM Modi cast his vote at a polling booth in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Shah voted at a polling booth in Ahmedabad.

In Uttar Pradesh, where several members of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family are contesting, close to 55.13 per cent polling was recorded in 10 seats.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP workers were trying to “loot booths” in Mainpuri and people from opposition parties were being detained in police stations.

Yadav cast his vote in Saifai (Etawah) in Mainpuri constituency where his wife and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is contesting.

Among other states, Chhattisgarh recorded 66.87 per cent polling, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 65.23 per cent, Goa 72.52 per cent, Karnataka 66.05 per cent, and Madhya Pradesh 62.28 per cent, according to the EC.

Sporadic incidents of violence marred the third phase of Lok Sabha polls in four constituencies in West Bengal as TMC, BJP and Congress-CPI(M) workers clashed with each other in various parts of Murshidabad and Jangipur seats.