DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES 58.98% voter turnout in Gujarat, some villages boycott poll RITU SHARMA & SOHINI GHOSH GANDHINAGAR, AHMEDABAD, MAY 7 GUJARAT'S 25 constituencies saw an approximate voter turnout of 58.98 per cent on Tuesday, when the third phase of Lok Sabha elections was conducted. In 2019, the overall voter turnout was 64.51 per cent. Atleastthreevillages—Kesar inBharuch,SandharainSuratand Bhakhari in Banaskantha — boycotted the elections completely as per a statement from the ElectionCommission(EC).Partial boycotts were reported from Bhatgam of Junagadh district, Rabarika in Bhavnagar, and Bodoli and Punjara in Mahisagar district, for reasons ranging from lack of drinking water to pucca roads and so on. Inall,sixFIRswereregistered andtherewerereportsof several faulty EVMs, including one in Gandhinagar constituency where a button was disabled using instant glue. As per the data shared by the EC till 11.40 pm, the state recordedavoterturnoutof 58.98 per cent in 25 seats. Till 5pm, the highest turnout was recorded in Valsad (68.12 per cent) and the lowest was witnessed in Amreli (45.59 per cent)—thetrendmatching2019, when Valsad reported the highestturnoutat74.28percent and Amreli the lowest at 54.47 per cent. Thisyear,toensuremaximum voter turnout, two extra hours of polling were allowed given the heatwave conditions prevailing in the state. While the 2022 AssemblyelectionsinDecember saw polling from 8 am to 5 pm, pollingbeganonTuesdayat7am and ended at 6 pm. GujaratCEOPBharathi,however,admittedthattheextended polling hours did not result in an increase in turnout. In fact, the first hour of voting — from 7 am to 9 am — saw a turnout ranging between 9-10 per cent. It was from 9 am to 11 am that the turnout peaked at CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Women await turn to vote in Chhota Udepur. Bhupendra Rana `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ELECTION COMMISSION ESTIMATES AT 11.40 PM 64.4% turnout in Phase 3, 2.9-pc point dip over 2019 SPEAKING AFTER SATARA RALLY Lowest voting of 57.34% recorded in UP, Assam turnout highest at 81.61% EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 7 LIKE THE first two phases, the thirdphaseoftheLokSabhaelectionsonTuesday,covering93constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories, also recorded a dip in voter turnout as compared to2019,asperearlyestimates.The voter turnout was 64.4 per cent, according to the figures available at 11.40 pm. In 2019, these constituencieshadrecordedaturnout of 67.33 per cent. While the official time for voting to end was 6 pm, polling was extended in some areas to allowthosewhohadenteredthe polling station by then to cast their votes. With reports still coming in, the final turnout could rise. In the first phase, when 102 constituencies went to polls, the final turnout was 66.14 per cent, a drop of just under 4 percentage points as compared to 2019. In the second phase, in which 88 seatsvoted,thefinalturnoutwas 66.71 per cent, a drop of about 3 percentage points from 2019. In a statement, the Election Commission (EC) said polling was peaceful. An EC official said it was peaceful in West Bengal too, which often sees poll-related violence. According to the EC’s Voter Turnout app, Assam, where four seats went to polls, reported the highestturnoutat81.61percent. The lowest turnout of 57.34 per cent was recorded in Uttar Pradesh (10 constituencies). In NCP(SP)chief SharadPawarvotesinBaramati.Hisdaughter SupriyaSuleisseekingafourthtermfromtheseat. Arul Horizon Many regional parties will move closer to Cong, some may merge: Pawar On whether this applied to his party: No difference between Cong and us NEERJA CHOWDHURY SATARA, MAY 7 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Home Minister Amit Shah in Ahmedabad. PHASE 3 TURNOUT (%) 2019, the same constituencies in Uttar Pradesh saw 60.01 per cent polling. Bihar, where five constituencies went to polls, recorded 58.18 per cent. Gujarat, where 25 of its total 26 constituencies voted (the BJP won Surat unopposed), saw 58.98 per cent polling. In 2019, Gujarat had recorded 64.5 per cent turnout. Maharashtra (11 constituencies) recorded 61.44 per cent polling. States where polling ended in Phase 3 (in %) 2019 2024 Assam* (4seats) 85.15 81.61 Chhattisgarh (7seats) 70.87 71.06 Goa (2seats) 75.14 75.20 Gujarat (26seats)** 64.51 58.98 Karnataka (14seats) 71.7 70.41 Nirmal Harindran CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Overall turnout 2019 (93 seats) 2024 **BJP candidate elected unopposed from Surat *2019 turnout for same seats but boundaries of Assam seats have changed due to delimitation in 2023 Note: Figures until 11.40 pm 67.3% 64.4% Phase 4 MAY13 SUGGESTING A possiblereshaping of Opposition politics after the2024elections,SharadPawar hassaidthatregionalpartieswill move closer or, in some cases, even merge with the Congress. Among the tallest leaders in theOppositiontoday,theformer UnionMinisterandMaharashtra Chief Minister Pawar told The Indian Express: “In the next coupleof years,severalregionalparties will associate more closely with the Congress. Or they may look at the option of merging with the Congress if they believe that is the best for their party.” Asked whether that applied to his own party, the NCP, the chief of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) said, “I don’t see any difference between the Congress and us…. Ideologically, we belong to the Gandhi, Nehru line of thinking.” Then he promptly added: “I am not saying anything now… Without consulting colleagues, I shouldn’t say anything. Ideologically, we are close to them (the Congress) — any decisiononstrategyorthenextsteps willbetakencollectively.Itisdifficult to adjust (with) or digest (Narendra ) Modi.” TheIndianExpressspokewith Pawar in Satara on the night of May 4 after he had addressed a mammothrallyforhiscandidate ShashikantShindewhoistaking on Udayanraje Bhosale, once CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 You can’t perform official duties as CM PM: Need 400 if we grant interim bail, SC tells Kejriwal to stop Cong ANANTHAKRISHNAN G BUSINESS AS USUAL NEW DELHI, MAY 7 BY UNNY THE SUPREME Court said Tuesday it would not want Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, to perform his officialdutiesasChief Ministereven if it were to grant him interim bail in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections since “it may have cascading effects”. Hearing arguments on the questionof grantinghiminterim bail for campaigning in the elec- tions,JusticeSanjiv Khanna,presiding over a bench also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, said, “We are very clear… If at all we grant interim bail, we don’t want you to be performing your official duties… It may have cascading effects.” The bench did not say when it will pronounce an order on it. At the end of the day’s hearing on Kejriwal’s petition challenginghisarrestbytheEDonMarch 21,thebenchsaiditwillcontinue tohearitThursdayornextweek. OnMay3,thebenchhadsaid itwouldconsiderthequestionof CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 UNTIL HE ATTAINS MATURITY, SAYS BSP CHIEF Days after his attack on BJP, Maya sacks nephew as heir, coordinator EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, MAY 7 BSPleaderMayawatiannounced Tuesday she was removing her nephew Akash Anand as her political heirand the partynational coordinator“untilheattainsmaturity”. He had been named her successorbarely six monthsago. Mayawati announced her decision in a post on X, 10 days after Akash, along with other Mayawati said Akash Anand was being divested of power in ‘larger interest of party’ party leaders, was booked by Sitapur police in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity, among other charges under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Representationof thePeopleAct. In a video of his address at an election rally, Akash was heard callingtheBJPgovernment“gaddaron ki sarkar” (a government of traitors) and urging people to hit representatives of other partiesseekingvoteswithshoesand slippers. After the case was filed on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 from placing Babri lock on Ram Mandir ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, MAY 7 CLAIMINGTHATtheCongressintends to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on Ram Mandir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said he needs 400 Lok Sabhaseatssothattheopposition partycannotsucceedinitsplanto putthe“Babrilock”onthetemple in Ayodhya or bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. This is a departure from the Prime Minister’s earlier framing of the 400-seat mark — while he had not attributed a reason in the run-up to the polls, after the first phase, he had said he needed to crossthisfigureso the Congress cannot steal the reservationof Dalits,tribalsandOBCs. Speaking in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone and Dhar districts, Modi countered the Congressallegationsthattheslogan of “400 paar” was aimed at abolishingtheConstitution.“The Congress is spreading lies… Don’t they know that from 2019 to 2024... the NDA-plus alliance already had around 400 seats… Modi needs 400 seats so the CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Congress gives 101 seats to allies, will contest in 328, its lowest Lok Sabha tally MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, MAY 7 FOR THE first time, the Congress iscontestinginlessthan400Lok Sabhaseats in ageneral election. It is contesting in 328 seats, 93 lower than the number it had contested in 2019.Coalition imperatives are one key reason: the party has given away as many as 101 seats it had contested in 2019 to its INDIA bloc partnersthis time. It is contesting more seats only in Karnataka and Odisha. In Mizoram, it is contesting the lone seat this time — in 2019, it had backed an Independent. In Karnataka, the party is contesting in all 28 seats this time as compared to 21 in 2019. Its then ally JD(S) had contested in the rest of the seats. In Odisha, it is contesting in 20 seats compared to 18 in 2019. ● Thepartywouldhave contested in 330 seats, but for the rejection of the nomination of its candidate in Surat and withdrawal of its candidate EXPLAINED E THEBIGDIP Seats Cong contested State 2019 2024 UP 67 17 West Bengal 40 14 Maharashtra 25 17 in Indore. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections,theCongresshadcontested in 417 seats, which was then the lowest. It contested 440 seats in 2009, 464 in 2014 and 421 in 2019. Thistime,thepartyiscontestinginalessernumberof seats compared to 2019 in as many as 12 states across the country. Considerthekeystateswhere it has given seats to its allies. The biggest dip is in Uttar PradeshwheretheCongresshad been in political wilderness for overthreeandahalfdecades.The party did not have any major alliesinthestatein2019.Upagainst the BJP and SP-BSP alliance, the partycontestedin67ofthestate’s 80 seats but could win only one: Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad
Indian Express Limited is an Indian news media publishing company. It publishes several widely circulated dailies, including The Indian Express and The Financial Express in English, the Loksatta in Marathi and the Jansatta in Hindi.