LS polls: Over 50% polling till 3 p.m. in phase 3

Millions of people came out to vote as over 50 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 p.m. across 117 Lok Sabha constituencies for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections spread over 13 states and 2 Union Territories.

Unfazed by the summer heat, voters turned out in large numbers in West Bengal, Tripura, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

However, voting was dull in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where polling is being held in three legs amid tight security measures. The turnout was only 10.64 per cent till 3 p.m.

Voting began at 7 a.m. as the third, and the largest, phase of the staggered seven-phase electoral exercise kicked off on Tuesday.

As per the latest figures received till 3 p.m., West Bengal recorded the highest turnout with 67.52 per cent of the eligible voters casting their votes. It was closely followed by Tripura, where voting is happening only in one constituency, with 67.08 per cent turnout.

Voting in the Tripura East seat was slated in the second phase of polling on April 18 but was deferred by the Election Commission to the third phase on security concerns.

Voting was also brisk in Assam (62.13 per cent) and Goa (58.93 per cent). In Chhattisgarh, 55.29 per cent of the electors cast their votes till 3 p.m.

Karnataka, where the remaining 14 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats are going to the polls in the third phase, saw around 50 per cent voting till 3 p.m. Kerala, where polling is being held in all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state, witnessed a turnout of 56 per cent.

Voting was moderate in Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Gujarat, 50.35 per cent of the eligible voters had exercised their franchise till 3 p.m. while in Bihar, it was 47 per cent.

In Maharashtra, around 45 per cent voting had taken place till 3 p.m.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli saw 56.81 per cent voting while Daman and Diu witnessed 54.84 per cent polling till 3 p.m.

--IANS

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