Maharashtra :Eleven states and territories including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat voted on Tuesday in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections amid searing temperatures. May 7 polling covered 93 Lok Sabha seats as BJP bagged Surat unopposed after the nomination papers of the Congress candidate were rejected and the others withdrew from the race. With this, polling is over in 20 states and UTs covering 283 Lok Sabha seats.
A provisional voter turnout of around 61.5% has been recorded so far, as per EC data, with the highest polling witnessed in BJP-ruled Assam (75.30%) despite overcast skies and light rainfall in most areas. While the official time for voting to end is 6 pm, it can go beyond fixed polling hours to enable voters in the queue who have come well in time to exercise their franchise.
Among the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam that went to the polls today, Dhubri recorded the highest voter turnout at 79.7%, followed by Barpeta at 76.73%, Kokrajhar at 74.24% and Guwahati at 68.93%.
West Bengal registered around 73.9% voter turnout, with largely peaceful polling in four constituencies of two Muslim-majority districts.
In Chhattisgarh, seven of the 11 Lok Sabha seats that voted on Tuesday, a voter turnout of 66.99% was recorded. Polling was held in Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa, Surguja and Raigarh parliamentary constituencies.
A voter turnout of 63.19% was recorded across nine constituencies in Madhya Pradesh that went to the polls in the third phase. The highest turnout was in Rajgarh with 73.63%, followed by Vidisha (70.48%) and Guna (69.72%). Madhya Pradesh had recorded 58.59% and 67.75% polling in the first and second phases, respectively. Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The fourth, which is the last phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state, will be held on May 13.