Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi exercised his electoral right on Tuesday at Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, marking the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Prime Minister was greeted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah upon his arrival at the polling station.
Sporting a white kurta-pyjama paired with a saffron-colored half jacket, PM Modi accompanied Amit Shah to the voting booth, pausing along the way to acknowledge supporters and even autograph a sketch of himself. Additionally, he took a photo with a young girl outside the polling station.
Prior to casting his vote, PM Modi urged citizens to participate in the democratic process and cast their ballots in record numbers.
Voting commenced for 93 Lok Sabha seats at 7:00 am across 12 states and Union Territories in third phase of the General election. The states and Union Territories are: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. BJP has secured the Surat seat uncontested.
Over 1,300 candidates, including approximately 120 women, are contesting in this phase, with a total of 17.24 crore eligible voters are casting their ballots at 1.85 lakh polling stations. Seventy-five delegates from 23 countries are observing the electoral process.
Notably, voting for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir has been postponed to the sixth phase on May 25. Additionally, polling in the Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh was rescheduled from the second to the third phase due to the demise of the BSP candidate.
Key candidates in this phase include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, among others.
In the previous 2019 General election, BJP had secured victory in 72 of the 93 seats being contested in this phase.
With polling for more than half of the total constituencies set to conclude by the end of this phase, the Lok Sabha elections are progressing through seven phases, with counting scheduled for June 4. The Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third consecutive term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc aims to challenge their dominance.
