Lok Sabha election row; voter turnout abysmally low in states like Maharashtra & Uttar Pradesh in Phase 3

Image Source: USAID

The country seems to be steeped in elections this month however, the voter turnouts from each of the states tell a different story as the third phase of the election is witnessing poor feedback from several states, while Maharashtra saw the lowest participation, at 31%. By 2 pm, West Bengal recorded the highest turnout of about 50%. Uttar Pradesh reported a 46% turnout. 

Notably, Goa also noted one of the highest turnouts of 50%, according to the Election Commission of India.

The key contestants of this Lok Sabha election are Amit Shah, contesting from Gandhinagar Jyotirajaditya Scindia from Guna, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha UP, among many others.

The Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament of India. It represents the people of India and is responsible for making laws, discussing national issues, and overseeing the work of the government. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by the citizens of India through general elections held every five years, or sooner if the house is dissolved prematurely. The Lok Sabha has significant powers, including the authority to pass bills, approve the budget, and scrutinize the actions of the government.

The phase was conducted in 93 constituencies, encompassing 11 states. Meanwhile, in Bengal, numerous parties like Congress CPI(M) filed individual complaints of alleged poll violence and vote tampering. To put it into perspective, by 9 am, the election commission of India had received more than 150 complaints, the majority of which were from Jangipur & Murshidabad.

Photo Credits: The Economic Times

Similar to the communal remarks of Narendra Modi, BJP president J.P Nadda, while addressing a public conference in Nalgonda, said that Congress is anti-ram and anti-national; he further stated that they have given undue advantage to the Muslims and will strip SC ST & OBCs off of their reservation benefits if they are brought into power.

Among the first voters were PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, who were spotted at a voting booth in Ahmedabad this morning. This phase is also significant as over 283 Lok Sabha seats will be tied after it is over; all the constituencies in Chhattisgarh & Karnataka will be covered, while some seats in Bihar, UP, Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh, and Goa also come under the purview, by the end of the third phase, we can easily say that the country has determined its leader. 

It is also important to underline that this phase mainly consists of the areas that are already considered BJP’s citadel; in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, they had succeeded in winning almost 75 seats out of all the 92 that are being contested today.

While we can’t deny the sway BJP holds in Gujarat, Karnataka might turn out to be a hurdle given last year’s embarrassing defeat and JDS’s Prajwal revanna sex scandal coming to light ahead of the polls.

As the election heat rages on, opposition leaders bashed bjp; in a video message, Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi said that we are facing high unemployment, women atrocities, persecution of the minorities, and the backward community all the blame for it all goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a relentless power-trip and are tearing our nation by endorsing hatred for political gain, our party, on the other hand, has always stood by the weak and empowered them, ensuring they are met with justice, dedicated to the constitution and democracy. 

Pockets of Uttar Pradesh witnessed the lowest participation, the highest being in Firozabad at 40% and the lowest from Gangwar’s seat in Bareilly, at 34%.

If we talk about some of the old faces & the stalwarts of this election, Amit Shah will be contending from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, a stronghold held by BJP ever since the late 80s; Dimple Yadav will be facing off against BJP’s Jaiveer Singh Thakur from Mainpuri, a seat held by the former party leader Mulayam Singh.

Source: India Legal

While the voter turnout in the 2019 polls stood somewhere around 70%, we are yet to see how it pans out for the election this year.