New Delhi, May 7: West Bengal is still leading the voter turnout at 49.27 per cent while Goa, is inching closer to it at 49.04 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm, as per the data provided by the Election Commission of India. Chhattisgarh is also witnessing a high voter turnout of 46.14 per cent. Maharashtra has the lowest turnout till 1 pm at 31.55 per cent.
Voting percentages for other states participating in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls as of 11 am are-- Assam--45.88 per cent, Bihar--36.69 per cent, Gujarat--37.83 per cent, Karnataka--41.59 per cent, Madhya Pradesh--44.67 per cent and Uttar Pradesh--38.12 per cent.
Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu recorded 39.94 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm. Notably, the overall voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent. Leaders from the ruling BJP and other parties have urged the voters to come out in large numbers and participate in the largest festival of democracy.
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Earlier, PM Modi cast his vote at Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad, Gujarat for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in Ahmedabad, the Prime Minister urged the voters to cast their votes in large numbers.
Meanwhile, in this phase, more than 1300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray. A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their franchise in this phase at 1.85 lakh polling stations. Prominent leaders to contest in today's poll battle 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.
Voting will not take place for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the polling to the sixth phase to be held on May 25. Originally, voting was scheduled to be held on 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase. The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4.