Ahmedabad/Bengaluru: The third phase of Lok Sabha elections is set for Tuesday, encompassing 93 constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories. The BJP, which secured a dominant victory in these seats during the previous election, including clean sweeps in Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, faces a crucial test.
The electoral battle features over 1,300 contenders, with approximately 120 female candidates. Prominent figures include Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad), and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
In Gujarat, 25 constituencies, including Surat—where the BJP has already triumphed unopposed—will hold elections on May 7. This phase also includes 11 constituencies in Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, the remaining 14 in Karnataka, seven in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, four each in Assam and West Bengal, and both seats in Goa.
Additionally, voters in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2 seats), along with nine seats in Madhya Pradesh, such as Betul where elections were postponed, will cast their ballots. Over 11 crore individuals are eligible to vote in this phase.
Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah are slated to vote in Ahmedabad under the Gandhinagar constituency, following their expected arrival in Gujarat tonight.
Notable political figures re-entering the Lok Sabha race include former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) and Digvijaya Singh (Rajgarh).
Maharashtra’s Baramati is the stage for an intense battle between Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, the wife of his estranged nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Yadav family of the Samajwadi Party, including Dimple Yadav, Akshaya Yadav, and Aditya Yadav, are contesting to retain and reclaim their respective Lok Sabha seats.
The outcomes for former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal (Dhubri) will be determined on May 7.
Post the third phase, 283 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats will have completed voting. Subsequent phases are scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1, with the vote count set for June 4.
This phase witnessed intense exchanges between the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA bloc, debating issues such as reservations and allegations of sexual harassment against JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna.
Prime Minister Modi challenged the Congress to affirm its stance on quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, while the Congress accused the BJP of constitutional tampering and reservation removal.
Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra emphasised social justice, unemployment, farmer issues, and alleged favouritism towards certain businessmen.
BJP leaders countered with accusations of wealth redistribution and inheritance tax issues, asserting the Congress’s appeasement politics, while Rahul Gandhi pledged a caste census and economic survey under Congress governance.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had a resounding victory in Karnataka’s 14 seats, overcoming the then-governing alliance of Congress and JD(S).
The Congress has raised sexual harassment allegations against Prajwal Revanna, with BJP leaders questioning the previous Congress government’s delayed response. The JD(S) aligned with the BJP-led NDA in the previous year.
Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, faced legal challenges linked to sexual abuse allegations, with his father H D Revanna being arrested following a rejected anticipatory bail plea.
In Gujarat, the BJP’s Mukesh Dalal secured the Surat seat unopposed, continuing the party’s 2019 sweep of all 26 seats.
Chhattisgarh saw the BJP winning nine seats and the Congress two out of 11 in the last election.
For Assam’s Guwahati seat, the BJP has fielded a single candidate, while its allies AGP, UPPL, and other parties contest the remaining seats.
The Congress, along with the Voters Party International (VPI) and various other parties, are vying for seats, with 16 independents also competing in this electoral phase.