Elections 2019 Phase 3: Here's all that transpired during LS polls

Senior couple Prabhakar Bhide and his wife Sushila Bhide cast their votes at a polling booth in Pune's Mayur colony. Pic/Twitter ANI

The third phase of General Elections 2019 saw 116 seats going to polls in states of Gujarat, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The voting process began at 7 am and saw dawn at 5 pm. In Odisha, the third phase of elections witnessed a battle between several political heavyweights as well as former bureaucrats. Puri constituency witnessed a triangular fight between spokespersons of three major political parties, as two-time sitting MP and BJD spokesman Pinaki Mishra crossed swords with BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra and state Congress media cell Chairman Satya Prakash Nayak. Dhenkanal also witnessed a triangular fight.

The total voter turnout for the 3rd phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections until 5 pm was 63.24 percent. According to the latest update, West Bengal witnessed the highest number of voter turnout at 79.36 percent while Jammu and Kashmir saw the lowest voter turnout at 12.86 percent.

Also Read: Elections 2019: Assam records 78.52 percent voting till 5 pm in third phase

VIPs, candidates, and celebs galore in the third phase:

Politicians, leaders, celebrities, and candidates were among the early voters who exercised their franchise for the 116 seats spread over across 13 States & 2 Union Territories as the third phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise kicked off.

While common people thronged the polling booth to cast their votes, it was the celebs and leaders who led from the front. Starting the day on a positive note was BJP MP candidate from Shimoga BY Raghvendra who casts his vote at a polling booth in Shikaripura, in the third phase of general elections.

It was further led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who arrived at his mother's residence in Gandhinagar to cast his vote in Ahmedabad. PM Modi also met people outside his mother's residence in Gandhinagar. Later, Modi exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Ranip, Ahmedabad. He was accompanied by BJP National President Amit Shah who along with his wife Sonal Shah cast their votes at a polling booth in Naranpura Sub-Zonal office in Ahmedabad.

In Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party's Supriya Sule along with her family voted at a polling station in Baramati. Supriya Sule is sitting MP and NCP MP candidate from Baramati. Other eminent people included Abhay Singh Yadav, younger brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Senior Congress leader, and Thiruvananthapuram candidate Shashi Tharoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother, Heeraben Modi, Former Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, Social activist Anna Hazare, Congress leader Hardik Patel, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and wife Sulakshana Sawant, veteran actors Mammootty and Mohanlal among others.

An unusual visitor holds up polling in Kannur:

An unusual "visitor" in a polling booth in the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency, held up voting for a brief while on Tuesday. A small snake was found inside a VVPAT machine in a booth at Mayyil Kandakkai in the constituency, which is witnessing heavy polling, triggering panic among officials and voters. However, the reptile was soon removed and voting continued.

Senior citizens, differently abled and others defy odds:

While the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was all but a celebrity affair, common people weren't left behind and they too defied all odds to participate in the making of the world's largest democracy. Voters, young and old, thronged to the polling booths to exercise their votes in order to elect their representatives.

In Odisha, a specially-abled person casts his vote at a polling booth in Government Primary School, IRC village, Bhubaneswar. While in Maharashtra, a senior citizen couple, 93-year-old Prabhakar Bhide and 88-year-old Sushila Bhide cast their votes at a polling booth in Pune's Mayur colony.

On the other hand, a 68-year-old man named Basir Ali, who is suffering from cancer, came to cast his vote in Guwahati. Ali was accompanied by his childhood friend, Mukut Choudhary. In Maharashtra, voters were surprised to see Shraddha, a bride who had come to cast her vote at a polling station in Pune, Maharashtra ahead of her wedding during the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections 2019.

2019 Lok Sabha Elections: Guidelines to cast your vote!

Voting in the largest democracy in the world for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections began on April 11, 2019, in 543 constituencies. The polling for Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases. We have compiled important guidelines on the voting process.

Also, in order to cast vote in the Lok Sabha elections, it's mandatory for an Indian citizen to have an election ID card. But what if you don't have your Voter's ID card? Watch this video for the list of valid documents that can act as a substitute. Here's how to cast your vote without voter ID.

Calling it day off on the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) & VVPATs being packed at polling booth no.199 in Dhubri, Assam after voting concludes there.

In Mumbai, the voting for 2019 Lok Sabha Elections will take place on April 29, 2019.

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