1,352 in fray for Phase-III

New Delhi, April 23

With the last date for withdrawing nominations for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections having ended on April 22, 1,352 candidates from 12 states and UTs are in the fray for the May 7 poll.

This includes eight candidates for the Betul parliamentary seat in Madhya Pradesh the voting for which was adjourned earlier. Voting will be held for 94 seats in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections.

One candidate from the Surat constituency in Gujarat has been elected unopposed. All 26 Lok Sabha seats of the state were to go to the polls on May 7 during the third phase, however, with the Surat seat witnessing a walkover, the number of seats in the state that will vote on the above mentioned date is now 25.

The Betul parliamentary constituency was to go to the polls on April 26 in the second phase of voting, however, the elections there were postponed after BSP candidate Ashok Bhalavi contesting passed away on April 9.

For this phase, Gujarat has maximum 658 nominations from all 26 parliamentary constituencies, followed by Maharashtra with 519 nominations from 11 seats.