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polling started for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories in the third phase of the general election on Tuesday at 7:00 am. The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed. In this phase, more than 1300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray.

Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Modi, in an exclusive interview with Times Now, explained the reasoning behind the substantial goal of 400-paar. PM Modi expressed assurance when asked about his confidence in the NDA's capability to achieve the 400-plus target following the completion of two phases of polling. He explained how the BJP and its allies have collectively achieved the target set by the party. «Just count the number of sitting MPs we have. When we emerged victorious in 2019, we had approximately 359 Members of Parliament. Political parties from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha consistently supported us. This amounts to approximately 35 Members of Parliament. Additionally, Members of Parliament from the Northeast are aligned with us. Therefore, in practical terms, the NDA+ already had a strength of around 400. Our strength in the Parliament was already 400,» PM Modi explained.

candidates remained in the fray for the first phase of assembly elections in Odisha have criminal cases pending against them, according to a report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). In the first phase, voting for 28 assembly constituencies along with four Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 13. Out of 65 (27 per cent) candidates, who have declared criminal cases against themselves, 48 (20 per cent) are facing serious criminal charges, said the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in its report released on Monday. Among the major parties,18 BJP candidates, 17 Congress, 9 BJD and 3 AAP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Bharatiya Janata Party, the Porabandar Lok Sabha constituency will see a heavyweight in Mansukh Mandaviya contest from there. In the past elections, the seat has switched hands a few times from the Congress and the BJP, but has remained in the saffron party's grip since 2013, when it won the seat in a by-poll. Currently the Health Minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet, Mansukh Mandaviya will be contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections counting on his performance as the point person during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Going up against him is the Congress' Lalit Vasoya. The Congress last won this seat in 2009 and lost it almost instantly in 2012 when Vitthalbhai Radadiya quit the party and later contested the same seat on a BJP ticket.

Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar and AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani are among the 227 candidates facing the polls in the 14 constituencies in north Karnataka on Tuesday. Ministers Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Shivanand Patil, Eshwar Khandre and Satish Jarkiholi and seeking to launch their sons and daughters in electoral politics with the LS polls. About 2.59 crore electors will cast their vote at 28,269 polling stations where voting will take place between 7 am to 6 pm.

Andhra Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he was taking legal advice on how to return the money of poor people 'looted' in corruption. Referring to the seizure of «mounds of cash» by the Enforcement Directorate from the domestic help allegedly linked to the secretary of a Jharkhand minister, Modi wondered why such persons were «close to the Congress' first family.» «They have made the worker's house a godown of corruption. This is not the first time as a bigger seizure was made from an MP (in Jharkhand) earlier also and it was such a big cache that even machines were tired of counting.» The PM was addressing a rally at Vemagiri here, which was attended by TDP leader Nara Lokesh and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan.

Abhay Jain on Monday said some BJP leaders had requested him to withdraw his candidature from Indore Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, a claim dismissed by the ruling party as «fictional» and «publicity driven». Incidentally, Jain had contested the 2023 assembly polls from Indore-1 against BJP heavyweight (and eventual winner) Kailash Vijayvargiya and had lost his deposit. Jain is contesting the Lok Sabha poll as an independent since his Janhit Party, an umbrella body of former RSS pracharaks, is yet to get recognition from the Election Commission.

Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday said both Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be defeated in Kannauj and Rae Bareli, respectively in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a gathering in support of BJP candidate from Shravasti, Saket Mishra, Maurya said the manner in which Akhilesh's wife Dimple Yadav was defeated in 2019 from Kannauj, the same will be his fate this time. «Rahul will also taste defeat from Rae Bareli,» he said. The BJP leader expressed confidence of the saffron party winning more than 400 seats in the general elections.

Amit Shah on Monday accused the Congress and the TMC of maintaining stoic silence during terror attacks in the country in the UPA regime as they «were afraid of offending their vote banks». While the 10 years of BJP-led NDA government is characterized by a «tough stance» on terror and no compromise on the issue of national security, the Congress-headed UPA regime of which TMC was also an ally was soft on terror, he claimed. He was addressing a rally at Durgapur in Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency. «The Congress and TMC because of their vote bank politics didn't utter a word when terror strikes took place in the country during the Congress regime (UPA regime from 2004-2014). The TMC was then part of the Congress government. They were afraid that their vote bank would take offence if they took a tough stance on terror,» Shah said.

Baramati, the home turf of Maharashtra's powerful Pawars, goes to polls on May 7 (Tuesday) during Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections. The constituency, the traditional bastion of the Pawar family, has been among the headlines this time owing to a fierce turf war being played out between two family factions. The see-saw family feud has intrigued and captivated voters, but has also left many of them confused and baffled. The battle for Pawar legacy in Baramati took an interesting turn when Ajit Pawar decided to field his wife Sunetra against his sister Supriya Sule. Baramati Lok Sabha seat: Candidates This is a direct fight between NCP's Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar, and NCP (SCP) candidate Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.

Congress failing to field a strong candidate in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP is eyeing a record winning margin of more than 10 lakh votes for its sitting MP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In the past, this predominantly urban constituency has been represented by BJP stalwarts L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. While the seat has been a pocket borough of the BJP since 1989, it did witness interesting contests when the Congress chose high-profile candidates like T N Seshan and Rajesh Khanna. This time, the Congress has fielded its former Gujarat women's wing chairperson Sonal Patel against Shah, who had won by more than 5.5 lakh votes in the 2019 polls. Local BJP leaders said the party aims to raise this margin of victory to more than 10 lakh votes. In 2019, BJP's C R Paatil defeated his Congress rival by more than 6.9 lakh votes from Navsari in Gujarat. It was the highest margin of victory in the country in the 2019 elections.

Bengaluru traffic police have issued a warning to commuters regarding potential traffic congestion near the bustling Majestic area, in anticipation of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections slated for May 7. With fourteen Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka gearing up for polls, a significant number of individuals from North and central Karnataka are expected to depart Bengaluru to cast their votes on Monday. To accommodate the surge in travelers, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has deployed additional buses for those heading to their hometowns to participate in the electoral process. Consequently, a heightened volume of buses is foreseen, which may lead to congestion around the Majestic area. In a statement, Bengaluru traffic police urged the public to be mindful of the situation, stating, «An appeal to the public, Due to the 2nd phase of Lok Sabha election in Karnataka state, a large number of people are going to their hometowns and KSRTC has left additional buses from Majestic / Kempegowda Bus Stand. There is a possibility of traffic congestion.» In light of the potential congestion, alternative routes have been advised:

(This story originally appeared in on May 06, 2024)

low voter turnout in the first two phases of 2024 general elections a «myth», an economist at the country's largest lender SBI has said comparing the absolute number of votes cast is a better way to analyse the turnout. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the group chief economic adviser at SBI, said there has been 0.4 per cent increase in the absolute number of votes cast in the first two phases. «The unending debates propagated around supposedly low voter turnout in the first two phases of the General Elections 2024 is a myth. A better measure of votes cast is the absolute number of voters,» he said in a report. The Election Commission has been working to increase the voting percentage in the remaining phases of the polls.

Lok Sabha elections 2024 progress, Phase 3 is set to take place on May 7, with 93 seats across 12 states and Union Territories up for voting. This phase will see some key contests featuring prominent candidates from various parties. Several states will witness crucial contests, marking the culmination of electoral battles in these regions. In this phase, 2 seats in Goa, 26 seats in Gujarat, 7 seats in Chhattisgarh, and 14 seats in Karnataka will be up for grabs. Notably, the elections in Karnataka had already commenced in the second phase on April 26, with 14 seats in the state going to the polls. Additionally, voting will take place for two Lok Sabha seats in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Furthermore, the electoral landscape will see action in 4 seats in Assam, 5 seats in Bihar, 8 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 11 seats in Maharashtra, 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, and 4 seats in West Bengal. Among the prominent candidates whose electoral fortunes will be decided in this phase are Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad, Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri, and Badruddin Ajmal from Dhubri.

Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma filed his nomination from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, vehicles parked outside the Congress office in Gauriganj, Amethi were vandalised by unidentified people on Sunday night. Police reached the spot and spoke with the party workers who took to the streets in protest against the incident. Taking to X Congress shared, "Smriti Irani and BJP workers are badly scared in Amethi. Foreseeing the defeat, BJP goons armed with sticks and rods reached outside the Congress office in Amethi and vandalised vehicles parked there. There has been a deadly attack on Congress workers and the people of Amethi. Many people are badly injured in this attack. During the incident, vehicles of local people were also damaged."

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says the BJP will cross the 50% vote share mark in South Goa, a seat the ruling party lost last elections. In an interview with Himani Kothari, the CM calls the BJP a secular party and talks about what his government is doing to ensure Goans always have a place in Goa. Edited excerpts: Q. How has Goa benefitted over the last 10 years because of a double-engine government? Goa has got direct benefit of over Rs 35,000 crore – from infrastructure to the various schemes. Q) How confident is the BJP about winning both the seats? We are 100% confident. We’re winning with 100,000+ margin in North Goa and in South, it would be a margin of 60,000+ votes.

Bhubaneswar on Sunday night for the election campaign. He will hold public rallies in Brahmapur and Nowrangpur on Monday. Odisha Police have tightened security arrangements for the PM's visit.

Korba (Chhattisgarh): «Water is our biggest problem,» says Shivratan Singh, a resident of Lad village, about 65 km from Korba, which is India's biggest coal and power producing town in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh. Singh points to the water tank on the side of the road and says it had been constructed under Jal Jeevan Mission about a year back and taps also installed. «But they forgot to give us connections.» Just about a kilometre away is a dry pond. Villagers laugh when they point towards it. «We have never had water in this,» they say speaking about this pond which was dug under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). They complain about hefty electricity bills, unpaid MGNREGA wages and of remaining uncovered under the PM Awas Yojana. Brij Lal, a resident of Chhindwarpara village in the same block, says development schemes have never reached them. But what has excited them the most in this election is Congress' Mahalakshmi scheme which promises ₹1 lakh per year to women of every poor family. Listed as one of the aspirational districts by NITI Aayog, Korba is a study of contrasts.

Landing rights On April 29, a helipad was constructed at Shubhai village in Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's public meeting. Yadav's helicopter landed there on the same day and he addressed a gathering. On Tuesday, LJP leader and Hajipur candidate Chirag Paswan's chopper also landed on the same helipad without RJD's permission. The issue has now reached the Election Commission, with RJD filing a complaint against Paswan. Surat to Indore to Puri Express After the fiasco in Surat and Indore, Congress is staring at another one in Puri Lok Sabha seat. Party’s candidate Sucharita Mohanty has already dropped out of the race on financial grounds. Mohanty said that she couldn’t generate enough funds and the party also didn’t promise any financial support to her. However, two days are still left for filing nomination papers and the party was considering other options.

Bodoland People's Front (BPF). Both parties are claiming their pre-eminent role in fostering stability in this once-troubled region. BJP has left the Kokrajhar (ST) seat for its ally UPPL. UPPL has fielded Joyanta Basumatary, an MLA from Sidli assembly constituency and a former vice-president of the All-Bodo Students' Union. BPF has fielded Kampa Borgoyary. BPF was in power in Bodoland Territorial Council, a sixth schedule area since its formation in 2005, before being ousted by UPPL in 2020. BPF maintains equidistance from Congress and BJP but coordinates with BJP in state assembly.