Lok Sabha Election 2024: Over 40% voter turnout in Maharashtra and UP till 3pm; Bengal sees 63.11%, 54% voter turnout in MP

As India votes in the third phase of 18th Lok Sabha Election on Tuesday, the highest voter turnout till 3pm was seen in West Bengal with 63.11 per cent, while Madhya Pradesh witnessed 54.09 per cent voter turnout with Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra having approx. 47% and 42.63% turnout respectively.

According to data provided by election officials in respective states, the voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm.

Madhya Pradesh is voting for nine Lok Sabha seats while Uttar Pradesh is voting for 10 seats with 52 remaining. UP has 80 constituencies in Lok Sabha polls. Maharashtra is voting for 11 seats.  Meanwhile, West Bengal is voting for four seats.

In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, the NCP candidate from Baramati constituency in Pune district, and his mother Asha Pawar were among the early voters.

They cast their votes at a polling booth in Baramati, where Sunetra is pitted against her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, the sitting MP from there.

NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, his wife Pratibha Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule and her family, MLA Rohit Pawar and his family also voted in Baramati.

Actor-couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh cast their votes in Latur, while Union minister Narayan Rane, BJP candidate from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat, voted in Sindhudurg.

Riteish Deshmukh is the son of Congress leader and former state chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh, whose home turf was Latur.

In UP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav is aiming to retain the Mainpuri seat, which she won in a by-poll following the death of her father-in-law, Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Akshay Yadav, the son of SP national principal general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav is contesting from Firozabad and Aditya Yadav, the son of SP national general secretary Shivpal Yadav, is making his electoral debut from Budaun.

Early in the day, Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, their daughter Aditi Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and other family members cast their votes in Etawah's Saifai. BJP candidates S P Singh Baghel cast his vote in Agra and Parmeshwar Lal Saini in Sambhal.

In Madhya Pradesh, former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Digvijaya Singh and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president V D Sharma were among the early voters.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who are contesting the polls from Rajgarh and Guna, respectively, will not be able to vote for themselves as the former is a registered voter of Bhopal, and the latter is registered to vote from Gwalior, party sources said.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the BJP candidate from Vidisha seat, voted with his wife, Sadhna Singh, and two sons at a polling booth in his native village, Jait, in Sehore district. 

The Lok Sabha elections will conclude in seven phases and the counting of votes will be done on June 4.
 

(with PTI inputs)