Phase-3 campaigning ends, 1300+ candidates await fate on May 7

In the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, a total of 93 seats are up for grabs across 10 states and 1 union territory. One seat in Surat didn't need voting as the BJP candidate won uncontested, while Betul seat in Madhya Pradesh is finally going to polls after a delay due to a candidate's death. Additionally, the voting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat was postponed to May 26.

The BJP-led NDA and the Congress's INDIA bloc have been clashing fiercely, focusing on issues like Muslim reservations, the constitution, and sexual harassment allegations against JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna to sway voters. Congress accuses BJP of supporting a sexual abuse offender and tampering with the constitution, while the BJP criticises Congress for advocating religious-based reservations for Muslims from the existing quota of SC/ST/OBCs.

This phase is crucial for the BJP, which won most of these seats in 2019, especially in states like Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. Meanwhile, Congress aims to make significant gains by promising various incentives and financial assistance.

In Phase 3, there are 25 seats in Gujarat, 11 in Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Karnataka, 8 in Madhya Pradesh, 7 in Chhattisgarh, 4 each in Assam, 5 in Bihar, and West Bengal, and 2 in Goa. Additionally, the Union Territories of Nagar Haveli and Dadra and Daman and Diu will also vote.

Key candidates include Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Amit Shah, Parshottam Rupala, Mansukh Mandaviya, SP Singh Baghel, Pralhad Joshi, and Digvijaya Singh, among others. Notable contenders also include Supriya Sule, Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Aditya Yadav, Akshaya Yadav, and Sunetra Pawar.