New Delhi: A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 States and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal. Assam recorded the highest turnout at 74.86 per cent, while Maharashtra saw the lowest at 53.40 per cent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among those who exercised their franchise. While PM Modi cast his vote at a polling booth in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Shah voted at a polling booth in Ahmedabad. Shah (Gandhinagar) is among the bigwigs in the fray in this phase along with Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
In Uttar Pradesh, where several members of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family are contesting, close to 46.78 per cent polling was recorded in 10 seats. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP workers were trying to “loot booths” in Mainpuri and people from opposition parties were being detained in police stations. Yadav cast his vote in Saifai (Etawah) in Mainpuri constituency where his wife and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is contesting.