As many as 1,351 candidates are in the fray from 12 states and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Supriya Sule, former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai are among the key candidates in the phase-3.
Maharashtra
Voting will be held for 11 seats: Raigad, Baramati, Osmanabad, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri–Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle
The most keenly watched seats will be Baramati where NCP (SP) candidate and incumbent MP Supriya Sule is pitted against sister-in-law and NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate Sunetra Pawar, the wife of state deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
In Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, union minister and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane is contesting against Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Vinayak Raut.
Gujarat
Voting will take place in 25 of 26 seats in Gujarat. Mukesh Dalal, the BJP candidate from Surat, was elected unopposed after the nomination of Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected.
Voting will take place in Kachchh, Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Bharuch, Bardoli, Navsari, Valsad, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, and Chhota Udaipur constituencies.
In Gandhinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is contesting against Congress candidate Sonal Patel while Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya is pitted against Congress candidate Lalitbhai Vasoya from Porbandar. In Rajkot, BJP’s Purshottam Rupala is contesting against Congress’ Paresh Dhanani. In Navsari seat, Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil is pitted against Naishadh Desai of the Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is part of India Alliance, has fielded candidates in two seats—Bhavnagar and Bharuch.
Madhya Pradesh
In Madhya Pradesh, voters in nine out of 29 seats, including – Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal and Rajgarh will cast their votes apart from Betul seat, where voting was to take place in the second phase. It was postponed to the third phase following the death of the BSP candidate.
Among the key seats, Union Civil Aviation Minister and BJP’s Guna candidate Jyotiraditya Scindia is contesting against Rao Yadvendra Singh of the Congress. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is contesting against BJP’s Rodmal Nagar from Rajgarh. Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, popularly known as ‘Mamaji’ is contesting from Vidisha against Bhanu Pratap Sharma of the Congress.
Goa
Polling will be held in both the seats in Goa–North Goa and South Goa–on May 7. BJP candidate Shripad Naik is contesting against Congress nominee Ramakant Khalap in the North Goa seat. In South Goa, the contest is between Pallavi Dempo of the BJP and Viriato Fernandes of the Congress. Dempo is the richest candidate with a declared wealth of ₹1,361 crore.
Karnataka
Polling will be held in 14 of the 28 seats in the state in the third phase in Karnataka. Voting will be held in Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga seats. Polling was held for 14 seats in phase-2 on April 26.
The Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a triangular fight. The BJP has fielded sitting MP BY Raghvendra, son of former CM BS Yediyurappa and brother of party state party chief BY Vijayendra. Congress has fielded Geetha Shivarajkumar, the daughter of former CM late S Bangarappa. Rebel BJP leader KS Eshwarappa, who has been expelled form the party, is contesting as an independent in the seat.
The election will also decide fate of former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is contesting from Haveri constituency.
Uttar Pradesh
Polling will be held in Sambhal, Hathras (SC), Agra (SC), Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Budaun, Aonla and Bareilly seats on May 7.
In Mainpuri, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav is seeking re-election. In the December 2022 by poll, she had won from the seat defeating Raghuraj Singh Shakya of the BJP.
Polling will be held in the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2 seats) also in the third phase apart from seven constituencies in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, and four each in Assam and West Bengal.
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Published: 06 May 2024, 10:18 AM IST