Lok Sabha Polls 2019 Phase 3: Total voter turnout at 64.66%; Violence, EVM snags reported from various states

Over 64 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the third phase of Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday, the Election Commission said.

In the third phase, voting was held in 116 Lok Sabha seats, including all constituencies in Gujarat and Kerala, with BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and several Union ministers among prominent candidates in the fray.

Voter turnout in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections is 64.66 per cent, the poll panel said.

In the first two phases, election was held to 91 and 95 seats on April 11 and April 18 respectively. Election to 543 seats is being held in seven phases. The counting of votes will be on May 23. Here are the details of the state wise voter turnout:

79.36% voting in West Bengal:

Violence marred polling in West Bengal. One Congress worker was killed in clashes outside a polling booth as crude bombs were hurled in a bid to intimidate voters amid EVM malfunctioning at some place for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal on Tuesday.

Nearly 79 per cent voting was recorded in the five constituencies -- Balurghat, Malda North, Malda South, Jangipur and Murshidabad -- till 5 p.m.

About 73.06% polling in Kerala:

A provisional voter turnout of 73.06 per cent was recorded in the elections to the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala which by and large was peaceful. A large number of people stood in queue to cast their votes in Wayanad from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting.

It was 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.

Gujarat records 60.21% voting in the third phase:

Polling in Gujarat was peaceful. PM Modi cast his vote in Ahmedabad after taking blessings from his mother, BJP president Amit Shah and former BJP president LK Advani voted in Gandhinagar.

60% polling in Karnataka till 5 p.m

About 60 per cent votes were cast till 5 p.m in Karnataka's remaining 14 Lok Sabha seats during the third phase of polling amid tight security on Tuesday.

"Average voting percentage touched 60.41 per cent by 5.00 p.m in the 14 constituencies across the state's western and northern regions," an Election Commission (EC) official said.

Over 79% voting in incident-free Tripura LS poll

Over 79 per cent of the total 12.5 lakh voters on Tuesday cast their ballots in the deferred polling for the Tripura East parliamentary constituency, election officials said.

"After the final reports from all the polling stations received, the polling percentage might touch 80 per cent. In 2014, the voting percentage in the Tripura East parliamentary seat was around 85 per cent," an Election official said.

Bihar records 60% turnout in the third phase:

More than 55 per cent voting was recorded till 5 p.m. on Tuesday for the five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the third phase of parliamentary elections amid a few incidents of clashes and malfunctioning of EVMs, officials said.

In Madhepura, 54 per cent voting was recorded, in Supaul 57 and Araria 57 per cent each, Khagaria 56 per cent and Jhanjgarpur 50 percent.

According to officials at Bihar Chief electoral office here, the voting has been peaceful and there are no reports of violence, except some clashes between supporters of rival parties," said a senior official at the police headquarters in the state capital.

Chhattisgarh records 65% turnout in remaining 7 seats:

Nearly 65 percent of 1.27 crore voters exercised their franchise on Tuesday for seven seats in Chhattisgarh's third and final phase of polling which sealed fate of 123 candidates.

Polling officials said that final figure could go well beyond 70 percent. Polling was entirely peaceful in the state.

Odisha records 61% polling in third phase:

Odisha recorded 61 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm in the third phase of polling on Tuesday, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar. He said the polling percentage would increase as voting was still on at several booths in the state.

Kumar recommended re-polling in two booths, where technical snags in EVMs hampered voting. Re-polling will be held in booth number 196 under Badamba Assembly segment and booth number 183 under Deogarh Assembly segment.

Uttar Pradesh records 57% voting till 5 pm:

Braving the scorching sun, 56.71 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in 10 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh by 5 pm Tuesday, with an hour still to go before polling closed in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Prominent leaders in the fray in this phase are four members of Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's clan, besides senior party leader Azam Khan and actor-turned BJP candidate Jaya Prada.

There were complaints of electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioning at some booths and they were promptly attended to, Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu said here.

57.01% voter turnout in Maharashtra by 5 pm:

An average 57.01 per cent turnout was recorded at the end of voting hours across 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra which went to the polls in the third phase of elections Tuesday. The polling began at 7 am and ended at 5 pm.

Goa records 71% voting for two Lok Sabha seats by 5 pm:

An average 70.90 per cent voting was registered in two Lok Sabha seats in Goa by 5 pm, election authorities said Tuesday evening.

As per the data released by the Chief Electoral Officer, North Goa Lok Sabha constituency witnessed 72.97 per cent turnout by 5 pm, while in South Goa, the polling percentage was 68.90.

Assam records 78.52% voting till 5 pm:

An average 78.52 per cent polling was recorded in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Barpeta constituencies of Assam in the third phase till 5 p.m. on Tuesday, officials said.

The process started at 7 a.m. in 9,577 polling stations across the four Lok Sabha constituencies, where 74,77,062 electorate cast their votes.

The lowest polling was reported in Jammu & Kashmir at 12.86% amid tight security.

71.43% voter turnout was reported in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 65.34% in Daman & Diu.