Ten states and two Union territories, with 94 constituencies, are voting in the phase three of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 7. The states in the fray are Goa, Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa will be under the spotlight as all Lok Sabha seats here go to polls on May 7.
Two Goa seats
Goa’s two Lok Sabha seats—North Goa and South Goa—will see a two-way contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress candidate Ramakant Khalap will fight against BJP’s Shripad Yesso Naik from North Goa, while INC’s Viriato Fernandes has been fielded against NDA-led BJP’s Pallavi Dempo in South Goa. Dempo, is the richest candidate in the fray in the third phase of polling on May 7. In 2019, the BJP had won the North Goa seat while the Congress bagged the South Goa seat.
Gujarat, PM Modi’s home turf
Voting will also take place on 25 out of 26 seats in Gujarat. The only exception is Surat, where BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal secured an uncontested victory after the nomination of Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected, and several other contenders stepped back from the race last week.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) earlier informed that Gujarat and Maharashtra had the most nominations out of the 12 states and Union Territories voting in this phase. “In phase 3, Gujarat had a maximum of 658 nominations from 26 Parliamentary constituencies, followed by Maharashtra with 519 nominations from 11,” the EC said.
In this phase, 2,963 nominations were filed for 95 Parliamentary constituencies across 12 states and UTs going to the polls for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
For the BJP, Gujarat remains crucial for being the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The saffron party has been in power in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly with an absolute majority for about three decades since 1995.
Gujarat is also key because the BJP is facing protests from the crucial Kshatriya community against Union Minister and BJP’s Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate Parshottam Rupala, over remarks made by him against the community. The Prime Minister is campaigning in Gujarat since May 1.
The voting in the third phase will begin at 7 am on May 7 and conclude at 6 pm, providing ample opportunity for citizens to exercise their franchise. Voting for the seven-phase polls to elect the 18th Lok Sabha started on April 19 and will conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Prajwal Revanna jolt in Karnataka
Fourteen parliamentary seats of Karnataka will also vote in the third phase on May 7. Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha. Fourteen seats of the state voted in the second phase on April 26.
Karnataka matters for the BJP for it is the only state in the South where it has gained a dominant presence after winning 25 of the 28 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It is also key for the BJP’s ‘Mission South’, as the party has failed to make inroads in southern states other than Karnataka and Telangana.
Days ahead of phase 3 polling, the BJP and the JD(S), the alliance partners, have found themselves in a spot after the sexual abuse episode involving Prajwal Revanna, who is also the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
Source: Livemint