Polling for the third phase of the seven-phase 2024 elections began in as many as 93 constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories at 7 am on Tuesday.
As many as 1,351 candidates are in the fray for these 93 constituencies. A total of 17,24 crore voters including 8.39 crore females are eligible to cast their franchises in this phase.
The states and Union Territories where elections will be held in the third phase are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Heavyweight Candidates In Phase 3 Of Polling
Some high-profile names are in the fray in this phase of the election. They are Union Home Minister Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna, Madhya Pradesh), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar, Gujarat) and Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad, Karnataka).
Moreover, NCP founder Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is contesting against her cousin Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar Baramati. The result 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.
Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 3 Voting Live Updates: Polling Begins in 93 Seats Across 11 States and UTs
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Key Candidates In UP, MP & Assam
Mainpuri will see Dimple Yadav, wife of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the fray. Akshay Yadav, son of senior Samajwadi party leader Ram Gopal Yadav will try to reclaim the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat which he had won in 2014.
Aditya Yadav, the son of SP General Secretary Shivpal Yadav is making his electoral debut from the Budaun Lok Sabha seat, which was represented by his cousin Dharmendra Yadav in 2014.
Other key leaders in the fray for polls are former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Digvijaya Singh from Vidisha and Rajgarh respectively.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Badruddin Ajmal is in the fray from Assam’s Dhubri.