A total of 117 constituencies across 13 states and two union territories will vote on Tuesday, 23 April, in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The states where voters would be casting their ballots include Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, and Tripura. The Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu are also going to polls on Tuesday.
Notably, the maximum number of parliamentary constituencies are going to polls in the third phase with more than 1,600 candidates in the fray.
BJP President Amit Shah, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi and several Union ministers are among the prominent candidates who will cast their votes in the third phase.
Over 18.56 crore voters are eligible for voting in this phase and the Election Commission has set up 2.10 lakh polling booths with elaborate security arrangements.
Voting will be held in:
Here’s a breakdown of all the constituencies voting in the third phase:
Karnataka
The remaining 14 out of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka will go to polls on Tuesday, with the battle lines clearly delineated for a bipolar contest between the ruling Congress-JD(S) and the BJP.
The 14 seats voting in Karnataka are:
- Chikkodi
- Belgaum
- Bagalkot
- Bijapur
- Gulbarga
- Raichur
- Bidar
- Koppal
- Bellary
- Haveri
- Dharwad
- Uttara Kannada
- Davanagere
- Shimoga
The BJP, which has considerable presence in north Karnataka aims to improve its tally, banking on the ‘Modi wave’ and the support of dominant Lingayat community, considered as its vote base.
For ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance, it is a high-stakes battle as their performance in the general elections is likely to have a bearing on the coalition government headed by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Of the 14 constituencies that will go to polls, BJP is contesting in all the seats while Congress and JD(S), who have an alliance, have fielded their candidates in 12 and two constituencies respectively, as per the seat-sharing arrangement.
Kerala
Kerala will vote in a single phase on Tuesday, with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Alphons Kannamthanam and sitting MP Shashi Tharoor among the heavyweights.
It is a do-or-die battle for both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and Opposition Congress-headed UDF in most of the 20 Lok Sabha seats this time in the state, known for its decades-long bipolar politics.
The BJP-led NDA is posing a formidable challenge to the two traditional fronts in at least three constituencies, Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur.
The 20 seats voting in Karnataka are:
- Kasaragod
- Kannur
- Vadakara
- Wayanad
- Kozhikode
- Malappuram
- Ponnani
- Palakkad
- Alanthur
- Thrissur
- Chalakudy
- Ernakulam
- Idukki
- Kottayam
- Alappuzha
- Mavelikkara
- Pathanamthitta
- Kollam
- Attingal
- Thiruvananthapuram
Goa
Polling for two Lok Sabha seats and bypoll for three state Assembly seats in Goa will be held in a single phase on Tuesday.
There are 12 candidates in the fray for the two Lok Sabha constituencies and 18 for the three Assembly seats.
The by-elections in Shiroda and Mandrem were necessitated after their sitting Congress MLAs resigned and joined the ruling BJP. The Mapusa seat fell vacant following the death of its sitting MLA Francis de Souza.
The two seats voting in Goa are:
- North Goa
- South Goa
Gujarat
BJP chief Amit Shah and 370 other candidates are in the poll fray in Gujarat where voting for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats will be held in a single phase.
Bypoll in four seats, Dhrangadhra, Manavadar, Unjha and Jamnagar (Rural), in the state will also be held.
While Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Seat, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jaswantsinh Bhabhor, is the BJP nominee from Dahod seat.
Former minister Bharat Solanki of the Congress is contesting from Anand Lok Sabha seat while Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Paresh Dhanani is the party's nominee from Amreli.
The 26 seats voting in Gujarat are:
- Kachchh
- Banaskantha
- Patan
- Mahesana
- Sabarkantha
- Gandhinagar
- Ahmedabad East
- Ahmedabad West
- Surendranagar
- Rajkot, Porbandar
- Jamnagar
- Junagadh
- Amreli
- Bhavnagar
- Anand
- Kheda
- Panchmahal
- Dahod
- Vadodara
- Chhota Udaipur
- Bharuch
- Bardoli
- Surat
- Navsari
- Valsad
Maharashtra
A total of 249 candidates are in the fray in 14 constituencies in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
State BJP president Raosaheb Danve and NCP chief Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule are among the prominent candidates.
Another keenly watched contest will be in Ahmednagar where Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, is the BJP nominee.
The 14 seats voting in Maharashtra are:
- Jalgaon
- Raver
- Jalna
- Aurangabad
- Raigad
- Pune
- Baramati
- Ahmednagar
- Madha
- Sangli
- Satara
- Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg
- Kolhapur
- Hatkanangle
Assam
The third and final phase of polling in four parliamentary constituencies in Assam will decide the fate of 54 candidates in the fray.
Prominent candidates 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 from Barpeta.
The 4 seats voting in Assam are:
- Dhubri
- Kokrajhar
- Barpeta
- Gauhati
Bihar
Five Lok Sabha seats go to polls in the third phase of general elections in Bihar.
Madhepura seat is set to witness a clash of Yadavs. The BJP’s ally JD(U) has fielded state minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav from Madhepura. Dinesh Chandra Yadav is engaged in a three-cornered contest with Pappu Yadav, who founded the Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) in 2015, and Sharad Yadav, who was the runner-up for the JD(U) last time, but is contesting on the RJD symbol this time.
In Supaul, the cohesiveness of the Opposition’s 'Mahagathbandhan' is being tested as sitting MP Ranjeet Ranjan of the Congress is facing rebellion from a local RJD leader contesting as an Independent and enjoying support of the local unit.
The five seats voting in Bihar are:
- Jhanjharpur
- Supaul
- Araria
- Madhepura
- Khagaria
Chhattisgarh
Polling will be held in seven Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in the third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections where as many as 123 candidates are in the fray.
In the high-profile Durg seat, the Congress has fielded its former MLA Pratima Chandrakar, who belongs to the influential Kurmi OBC community. The BJP has fielded its former MLA Vijay Baghel, who also belongs to the Kurmi community, in Durg.
In Raipur seat, the BJP has fielded Sunil Soni, vice president of the state unit, while denying ticket to seven-term MP Ramesh Bais.
The seven seats voting in Chhattisgarh are:
- Surguja
- Raigarh
- Janjgir-Champa
- Korba
- Bilaspur
- Durg
- Raipur
Odisha
Over 92.56 lakh voters will decide the fate of 417 candidates in the third phase of polling in six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly seats in Odisha, where pre-poll violence have left several injured, including an EC magistrate and a ruling party candidate.
Prominent candidates in the third phase are BJD MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab and Pinaki Mishra who are seeking re- election from Cuttack and Puri Lok Sabha seats respectively.
The prestigious Bhubaneswar parliamentary seat is witnessing an interesting fight with former IAS officer and BJP nominee Aparajita Sarangi crossing swords with former Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik, who is in the fray as the BJD candidate.
The six seats voting in Odisha are:
- Sambalpur
- Keonjhar
- Dhenkanal
- Cuttack
- Puri
- Bhubaneswar
Uttar Pradesh
The third phase of polling for ten 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.
The BJP, which had won seven out of the ten seats in this region in 2014, has a huge stake in this phase in Uttar Pradesh, as the area is considered a SP stronghold.
The three Yadav family members who are seeking re-election respectively from Mainpuri, Badaun and Firozabad in this phase are Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and his two nephews, Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav.
The electoral fortunes of senior SP leader Azam Khan will also be decided in this phase from Rampur, which witnessed a new low in campaigning this time.
The ten seats voting in Uttar Pradesh are:
- Moradabad
- Rampur
- Sambhal
- Firozabad
- Mainpuri
- Etah
- Badaun
- Aonla
- Bareilly
- Pilibhit
West Bengal
Five West Bengal Lok Sabha constituencies will go to the polls in the third phase of elections on Tuesday.
The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, BJP and Congress are the main contenders in the five seats in which the fate of 61 candidates will be sealed.
Four seats will see four-cornered contests between the three parties and the Left. It will be a three-cornered contest in Maldaha South as the Left is not in the fray in the seat.
The five seats voting in West Bengal are:
- Balurghat
- Maldaha Uttar
- Maldaha Dakshin
- Jangipur
- Murshidabad
Jammu and Kashmir
Anantnag district, which is part of the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, will go to polls in the third and last phase in Jammu and Kashmir.
Former Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti and Congress’ Ghulam Ahmad Mir are the contenders in Anantnag. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference’s Hasnain Masoodi is also in the fray.
Tripura
The EC deferred elections in East Tripura Lok Sabha seat from 18 April to 23 April, stating that the atmosphere in the state was not conducive for holding elections.
An electorate of 12,61,861 voters will decide the fate of 10 candidates in East Tripura seat, spread across six districts.
Prominent among those in the fray are BJP candidate Rebati Mohan Tripura, sitting MP Jitendra Chowdhury of the CPI(M) and Pragya Dev Burman of the Congress.
Daman and Diu
The Union Territory of Daman and Diu will go to polls in the third phase on Tuesday. BJP’s Lalubhai Patel will take on Congress’ Ketan Patel in the lone seat.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Dadra and Nagar Haveli also has a lone Lok Sabha constituency. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Patel Natubhai Gomanbhai who is the sitting MP will take on Prabhu Ratnabhai Tokiya from Congress.
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