New Delhi, Apr 23: The voting for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 ended on Tuesday evening and the net voter turnout across 116 parliamentary seats was recorded at 66 percent.
Sporadic incidents of violence have been reported from across West Bengal in the third phase of polling. The clashes between the TMC and the BJP have escalated.
The TMC workers allegedly ransacked the BJP camp office, following which the BJP workers razed the camp office of the TMC in Motigunj area.
A delegation of BJP leaders will meet Chief Election Officer for West Bengal Aariz Aftab at 3 pm today to complain about vote rigging and escalating violence during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
All 26 constituencies in Gujarat, all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Chhattisgarh, six in Odisha, five each in Bihar and West Bengal, four in Assam, two in Goa, one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Tripura are witnessing polling in the third phase.
As per the original schedule, 115 seats were to vote today but polling in East Tripura seat was postponed from April 18 to April 23 after the EC found that law and order situation there was not conducive to hold elections.
Of the 115 seats, the BJP had won 62 seats while the Congress bagged 16 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Do stay tuned with us as we bring you the updates LIVE:
he Election Commission has sought a report from the chief electoral officer of Gujarat on a 'roadshow' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad Tuesday which the Congress alleged violated electoral law. Briefing reporters on the phase three of Lok Sabha elections, which concluded Tuesday, senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said, a report has been sought in this regard from the chief electoral officer of Gujarat.
10:54 PM, 23 Apr
"Sukhbir Singh Badal, Nitish Kumar, Uddhav Thackeray and other NDA leaders will be present during nomination filing by PM Modi on April 26," says Shah.
10:54 PM, 23 Apr
"Once again Modi Ji will contest from Kashi (Varanasi), he will file his nomination on afternoon of April 26. He will also participate in road show in Kashi on April 25," says BJP president Amit Shah.
10:02 PM, 23 Apr
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of over 60 per cent in the 10 constituencies where polling took place in the third phase on Tuesday, election officials said. Prominent UP leaders in the fray in this phase are four members of Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's clan, besides senior party leader Azam Khan and actor-turned BJP candidate Jaya Prada. The overall voting percentage was 60.52 per cent, UP’s Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu told reporters after polling closed at 6 pm.
8:18 PM, 23 Apr
Chhattisgarh
Voter turnout in Chhattisgarh is 65.91 percent.
8:18 PM, 23 Apr
West Bengal
Voter turnout in West Bengal is 79.36 percent.
8:17 PM, 23 Apr
Uttar Pradesh
Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh is 57.74 percent
7:36 PM, 23 Apr
Tripura
Voter turnout in Tripura is 78.52 percent
7:35 PM, 23 Apr
Odisha
Voter turnout in Odisha is 58.18 percent
7:35 PM, 23 Apr
Total voter turnout for 3rd phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 is 63.24 percent.
Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh at 6:45 PM reported at 56.68 percent.
6:30 PM, 23 Apr
Voter turnout till now for the 3rd phase of the Lok Sabha elections is 61.31 percent.
6:29 PM, 23 Apr
West Bengal
Voter turnout in West Bengal till 5:00 PM reported at 78.97 percent.
6:23 PM, 23 Apr
Assam and West Bengal recorded the highest voter turn out with 74.05 per cent and 78.94 per cent respectively. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest poll percentage with 12.46 per cent.
5:57 PM, 23 Apr
64.82 per cent voters turnout in Assam till 5 pm, 49.94 per cent in Bihar, 63.85 per cent in Goa, 53.65 per cent in Gujarat, 11.22 per cent in J&K, 60.08 per centin Karnataka, 65.89 per cent in Kerala, 49.68 per cent in Maharashtra, 52.94 per cent in Odisha, 68.03 per cent in Tripura, 53.73 per cent in UP, 73.09 per cent in West Bengal, 58.37 per cent in Chhatisgarh, 56.89 per cent in Dadar Nagar Haveli and 64.82 per cent voters turnout in Daman and Diu.
5:45 PM, 23 Apr
A polling booth in Gir Forest has been set up for 1 voter in Junagadh. Voter Bharatdas Bapu says,"Govt spends money for this polling booth for one vote. I've voted and it's 100% voter turnout here. For 100% voter turnout everywhere, I request all to go and vote."
5:28 PM, 23 Apr
Odisha
BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Kendrapara, Baijayant Jay Panda, casts his vote for Lok Sabha Elections 2019.
5:25 PM, 23 Apr
Some 250 members of the transgender community voted for the first time in the Lok Sabha election today in Vadodara. Vadodara district collector Shalini Agarwal told PTI that members of the transgender community were enrolled as part of the Election Commission's directive that no eligible person should be deprived of the right to vote.
5:15 PM, 23 Apr
Karnataka
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader, Jagadish Shettar casts his vote at a polling booth in Hubballi-Dharwad, Karnataka.
5:14 PM, 23 Apr
Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: Abin Babu, a voter at booth no. 151 in Vattiyoorkavu, was arrested for allegedly making a false complaint about malfunctioning of polling machine.
5:08 PM, 23 Apr
Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha: VVPAT of Polling Station No. 196 of 87-Badamba Assembly Constituency was changed after commencement of actual poll, due to some error. 134 votes had been polled in the machine by then. Concerned Sector Officer reached booth with replacement VVPAT.
4:45 PM, 23 Apr
Polling agents from PDP and National Conference indulged in a fist fight at a booth in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, CNN-News18 reported.
4:20 PM, 23 Apr
Gujarat
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel casts his vote at a polling station in Bharuch.
4:00 PM, 23 Apr
Voter turn out for the Tripura East parliamentary constituency was recorded at 52.06 per cent at 3 pm.
3:59 PM, 23 Apr
Jammu & Kashmir
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters thrash a National Conference (NC) polling agent at Bijbehara polling station of Anantnag district, alleging bogus voting.
3:55 PM, 23 Apr
Chhattisgarh
Anjela Toppo, a 46-year-old tribal woman, collapsed today while standing in a queue to cast her vote in Raigarh Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh, PTI reported. Raigarh Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma told reporters that Toppo awas rushed to the hospital but later died there. Voting is underway in Raigarh (ST) and six other Lok Sabha constituencies in the third and final phase in the state.
Heavy rain & thunderstorm lash parts of Uttara Kannada district. Visuals from near polling booth number 92 in Sirsi
READ MORE
2:06 AM, 23 Apr
As many as 1,612 candidates are in fray, of which 316 belong to national parties and 76 are from state parties.
2:25 AM, 23 Apr
In Odisha, Puri is witnessing a triangular fight between BJD's Pinaki Mishra, BJP's Sambit Patra and Congress's Satya Prakash Nayak.
2:26 AM, 23 Apr
Karnataka
14 seats of the parliamentary seats in southern part of Karnataka went to polls during the second phase (April 18). The remaining 14 would vote today.
2:41 AM, 23 Apr
All the seats in Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu will be voting today.
5:21 AM, 23 Apr
In Odisha, Puri is witnessing a triangular fight between BJD's Pinaki Mishra, BJP's Sambit Patra and Congress's Satya Prakash Nayak. In Karnataka, the BJP is considered to have strong footing in many of the 14 seats going to the polls today.
5:21 AM, 23 Apr
Other key candidates include Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is contesting from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president Shivpal Singh Yadav from Firozabad. Supriya Sule, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar's daughter, is contesting from Baramati in Maharashtra. In Bihar, Adhikar Party-Loktantrik (JAP-L) chief Pappu Yadav is taking on RJD's Sharad Yadav in Madhepura.
5:21 AM, 23 Apr
Presidents of both the BJP and the Congress will face the electorate today. Amit Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar in Gujarat while Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad in Kerala.
5:22 AM, 23 Apr
All the seats in Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu will be voting today.
5:22 AM, 23 Apr
Four Lok Sabha seats in Assam, all 26 seats in Gujarat, 5 seats in Bihar, 7 in Chhattisgarh, remaining 14 in Karnataka, 14 in Maharashtra, all 20 in Kerala, both seats in Goa, 5 in West Bengal, 6 in Odisha, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. One seat in Tripura is also going to polls.
5:30 AM, 23 Apr
Dadra and Nagar Haveli:
In the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the BJP had bagged both seats in the last election.
5:42 AM, 23 Apr
Assam
In Assam, prominent candidates in the fray are two sitting MPs AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in Dhubri and Independent Naba Sarania in Kokrajhar, state social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma of BPF from Kokrajhar and Congress MLA Abdul Khaleque.
5:47 AM, 23 Apr
West Bengal:
The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BJP and Congress are the main contenders in the five seats -- Balurghat, Maldaha North, Maldaha South, Jangipur and Murshidabad. Four seats will see four-cornered contests between the three parties and the Left Front. It will be a three-cornered contest in Maldaha South as no Left party is in the fray in the seat.
6:07 AM, 23 Apr
Odisha
In the six seats in Odisha, the main contest in between the state's ruling BJD and the BJP. The BJD had won all the six seats in 2014.
6:13 AM, 23 Apr
Bihar
In Bihar, close to nine million voters will be deciding the fates of 82 candidates in five Lok Sabha seats of Bihar. Four sitting MPs Ranjeet Ranjan (Supaul), her husband Pappu Yadav (Madhepura), Sarfaraz Alam (Araria) and Mehboob Ali Kaiser (Khagaria) would seek to retain their respective seats.
6:21 AM, 23 Apr
Goa
In Goa, there are 12 candidates in the fray for the two Lok Sabha constituencies, including Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik from North Goa where he is pitted against state Congress chief Girish Chodankar.
6:35 AM, 23 Apr
Chhattisgarh
Voting will be held in seven Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, of which the BJP had won six in 2014. The Congress, buoyed by its victory in the Assembly elections last year, is hoping to improve its tally in the state.
6:44 AM, 23 Apr
Uttar Pradesh
The BJP had won seven out of the 10 seats in 2014, while the SP bagged three. Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and his two nephews Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav are seeking re-election from Mainpuri, Badaun and Firozabad seats respectively. Mulayam has said this will he his last contest.
6:47 AM, 23 Apr
Uttar Pradesh
The third phase of polling for 10 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh will decide the electoral fate of four members of the SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's clan, besides those of senior party leader Azam Khan and film actor and BJP candidate Jaya Prada.
7:00 AM, 23 Apr
Karnataka
In Karnakata, the battle lines clearly delineated for a bipolar contest between the ruling Congress-JD(S) combine and the BJP. The BJP that has considerable presence in these constituencies aims to improve its tally banking on what it calls the "Modi wave" and the support of dominant Lingayat community, considered as its vote base. It is also a test for Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy in the state.
7:02 AM, 23 Apr
Kerala
It is a do-or-die battle for both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-headed UDF in most of the 20 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP-led NDA is posing a formidable challenge to the two traditional fronts in at least three constituencies -- Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur.
7:04 AM, 23 Apr
Polling has begun at 116 Lok Sabha constituencies. 15 sates and 1 union territory are voting in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
7:06 AM, 23 Apr
States that are voting in the third phase of the LS polls: Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territories Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
7:11 AM, 23 Apr
Kerala
Union minister Alphons Kannamthanam is seeking to make his Lok Sabha debut from Ernakulam. Sitting Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is facing a triangular contest in Thiruvananthapuram, where the BJP has fielded former Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan and the CPI C Divakaran.
7:15 AM, 23 Apr
In the first two phases, election was held to 91 and 96 seats on April 11 and April 18 respectively. Elections are being held in seven phases and with the completion of third phase, the election process will be completed in southern states.
7:16 AM, 23 Apr
About 18.56 crore voters are eligible for voting in this phase and the Election Commission has set up 2.10 lakh polling booths/stations and has made elaborate security arrangements.
7:16 AM, 23 Apr
Punjab
Meanwhile the Election Commission has banned Navjot Singh Sidhu from campaigning for 72 hours after he appealed to Muslims against division of votes.
7:21 AM, 23 Apr
Kerala
The BJP would look to make inroads in Kerala. The party says that it is confident of making inroads in the state.
7:25 AM, 23 Apr
Jammu and Kashmir:
An election for a single parliamentary constituency would be held in three phases. Owing to the security situation, polling is being held on the Anantnag seat in three phases. The constituency is spread of four districts in South Kashmir. Nearly 30,000 security personnel have been deployed.
7:28 AM, 23 Apr
Jammu and Kashmir:
A major challenge for security forces as South Kashmir polls today. Anantnag would go to polls today. Elections were last held here in 2014 where 28 per cent polling was recorded.
7:36 AM, 23 Apr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet said, “urging all those voting in today’s Third Phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to do so in record numbers. Your vote is precious and will shape the direction our nation takes in the years to come. I’ll be voting in Ahmedabad in a short while from now.