New Delhi: West Bengal takes the lead in voter turnout during the third phase of Lok Sabha elections, hitting 14.60% by 9:00 AM on Tuesday, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

Madhya Pradesh also sees a significant turnout at 14.22%, while Maharashtra records the lowest at 6.64% by 9 AM.

As of 9 AM, voting percentages for other states participating in the third phase are as follows: Assam at 10.12%, Bihar at 10.03%, Chhattisgarh at 13.24%, Goa at 12.35%, Gujarat at 9.87%, Karnataka at 9.45%, and Uttar Pradesh at 12.13%.

Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu register a 10.13% voter turnout by 9 AM.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the overall voter turnout surpassed 67%.

Today, polling commenced for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories in the third phase of the general election at 7:00 AM.

This phase witnesses over 1300 candidates, including approximately 120 women, competing.

"A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in this phase at 1.85 lakh polling stations. Seventy-five delegates from 23 countries will observe the polling process," stated the poll panel.

Key contenders in today's election include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, among others.

In the 2019 general election, the BJP secured victory in 72 of the 93 seats up for grabs today.

Voting will not occur for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday, as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed polling to the sixth phase on May 25. Originally, voting was scheduled for 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase.

However, elections were rescheduled from the second to the third phase in the Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh due to the death of the BSP candidate. The BJP candidate in Surat has been declared the winner unopposed, and due to the revised polling schedule in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the total seats now up for polling are 93.

The Lok Sabha elections are taking place across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1, with counting scheduled for June 4.

The Narendra Modi-led BJP seeks a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc aims to halt their momentum.

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