Filing of nomination for third phase of polling begins today

New Delhi, April 11

The gazette notification for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections will be issued on Friday, which will also mark beginning of filing of nominations for polls in 94 seats across 12 states. Some of the key seats where polls will be held during this phase on May 7 are Sharad Pawar’s home turf Baramati from where his daughter Supriya Sule will face off with her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, Mainpuri from where former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is contesting, Guna from where Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will try his luck again after losing in 2019, as well as Vidisha from where former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting the polls after more than 20 years.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the last date of filing nominations for the third phase is April 19 and the last date for withdrawal of papers is April 22.

All 26 seats of Gujarat will go for polling in the third phase, while 14 seats of Karnataka will also vote in this phase. With 14 Karnataka seats voting on April 26 in the second phase, the third phase on May 7 will see the culmination of voting in the state.

Eleven seats of Maharashtra and eight seats of Madhya Pradesh will also vote in the third phase while 10 seats of UP will vote in this phase. Both seats of Goa, namely North and South Goa, will also vote in this phase, as will five seats in Bihar, including Madhepura and Khagaria.

Some of the key seats where polling will be held in the third phase are Dharwad (Parliamentary Affairs and Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi is contesting from here), Bellary (mining magnate B Sriramulu is contesting for the BJP), Agra, Guwahati and Bhopal.

The polls for Betul Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh will also be held in the third phase. They were to held in the second phase on April 26, but were postponed to May 7 after the BSP candidate contesting from there, passed away on April 9.