Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3: Assam Tops Voter Turnout, Followed By West Bengal And Chhattisgarh

The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections was conducted in eleven states and territories, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, amid searing temperatures. The polling on May 7 covered 93 Lok Sabha seats, with Surat being won by the BJP unopposed after the rejection of the Congress candidate's nomination papers and the withdrawal of other contestants.

With this phase, polling has concluded in 20 states and UTs, covering 283 Lok Sabha seats. According to Election Commission (EC) data, a provisional voter turnout of around 61.5% has been recorded so far, with Assam, ruled by the BJP, witnessing the highest polling at 75.30%, despite overcast skies and light rainfall in most areas.

Photo Credit: PTI

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Voter Turnout

The official voting time ends at 6 pm, but it can be extended beyond fixed polling hours to enable voters in the queue to exercise their franchise. Among the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam that went to polls, Dhubri recorded the highest voter turnout at 79.7%, followed by Barpeta at 76.73%, Kokrajhar at 74.24%, and Guwahati at 68.93%, as reported by Hindustan Times citing EC data.

In West Bengal, a voter turnout of around 73.9% was registered, with largely peaceful polling in four constituencies of two Muslim-majority districts. Chhattisgarh saw a voter turnout of 66.99% across seven of the 11 Lok Sabha seats that voted on Tuesday, including Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa, Surguja, and Raigarh parliamentary constituencies.

In Madhya Pradesh, a voter turnout of 63.19% was recorded across nine constituencies that went to 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 is conducting Lok Sabha polls in four phases, as per media reports.

In Maharashtra, 11 out of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies witnessed a voter turnout of 54.98% in the third phase. Among these, Kolhapur recorded the highest turnout at 63.71%. Gujarat recorded a voter turnout of 56.83% across 25 constituencies, with the tribal-reserved Valsad constituency reporting the highest turnout at 68.66%.

In Bihar, a voter turnout of around 56% was recorded across five Lok Sabha seats, with Supaul witnessing the highest turnout at 58.91%. In Uttar Pradesh, various constituencies witnessed voter turnouts ranging from 51.53% to 61.10%, according to the Election Commission (EC).

The voter turnout of 66.14% and 66.71% in the first two phases has been marginally lower than in corresponding phases five years ago, with analysts attributing this to the summer heat and the lack of a single strong issue to motivate voters.