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Indian elections 2019 live: Violence in West Bengal, 1 killed in 3rd phase of voting

New Delhi - The voting over seven phases ends May 19, with counting scheduled for May 23.

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By Web Report

Published: Tue 23 Apr 2019, 6:05 AM

Last updated: Wed 24 Apr 2019, 1:31 AM

Indians were voting on Tuesday in the third phase of the country's general election, amid campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party and the opposition that has been marred by bitter accusations and acrimony.
The voting for 117 parliamentary seats in 13 states and two Union Territories on Tuesday means polls are half finished overall for 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament. The voting over seven phases ends May 19, with counting scheduled to begin May 23.
The election is seen as a referendum on Modi's five-year rule. He has adopted a nationalist pitch in trying to win votes from the country's Hindu majority by projecting a tough stance against Pakistan, India's Muslim-majority neighbor and archrival.
The opposition is challenging him for a high unemployment rate of 6.1% and farmers' distress aggravated by low crop prices.
Modi voted in his western home state of Gujarat on Tuesday, though he is contesting for a parliamentary seat from Varanasi, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Tuesday's voting is important for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which won more than half of the 117 seats from the states voting Tuesday in the 2014 elections that brought it to power. The BJP's performance Tuesday will have a bearing on its bid to retain power in New Delhi.
Voting was also taking place in Wayanad constituency in southern Kerala state, one of the two seats that the president of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, is contesting. His home bastion, Amethi, in Uttar Pradesh state will vote on May 6. Gandhi will give up one seat if he wins in both places.
Voting also began for one seat in Kashmir, with the polls there spread over three phases due to security threats.

Live updates of the third phase of voting in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls:

12:33pm
Man standing in voting queue killed: A man, standing in the queue to cast his vote, was killed after clashes erupted between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Baligram area of Murshidabad.
Police said that Tiyarul Kalam got injured in the clashes. He was waiting for his turn to vote at booth number 188 here. He was immediately rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Violence between the workers of the Congress and ruling TMC sparked on allegations of proxy voting at the booth. In a related incident, three TMC workers were injured after being hit by a crude bomb hurled at them.
The incident took place in Domkal municipality in the district. Badaruddoza Khan of the CPI (M) is seeking re-election from Murshidabad parliament constituency. TMC's Abu Taher Khan and BJP's Humayun Kabir are in the fray against him.
12:33pm
11:30am
A snake was found at a polling booth in Kannur.
10:38am
Sunny Deol joins BJP: Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, son of veteran actor Dharmendra, on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
10:20am
26.55% voting recorded in Goa: Around 26.55 per cent polling was recorded in Goa's two Lok Sabha constituencies by 11am, poll officials said.
he two parliamentary seats - North Goa and South Goa - recorded 26.52 per cent and 26.58 per cent polling respectively till 11 a.m. with the average turnout recorded as 26.55 per cent.

Voting was underway at 1,652 polling booths across Goa since 7am.
10:00am
BJP workers beat up officer in Moradabad: BJP activists allegedly beat up the presiding officer at booth number 231 in Bilari in the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers alleged that the officer, Mohd Zubair, was pressurizing women voters to press the 'cycle button' of the Samajwadi Party.
The officer was later removed from the booth but no action was taken against the attackers. In Etah, a number of voters alleged that the presiding officials were pressuring voters to vote for the "cycle". One such officer, Yogesh Kumar, was taken off duty.
9:40am
Veteran actors Mammootty and Mohanlal cast their votes in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
9:35am
Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram candidate Shashi Tharoor casts his vote at a polling booth in the city.
9:30am
7% voting recorded in Karnataka: Around 7 per cent of the estimated 2.43 crore electorate cast their votes in Karnataka's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies till 10am on Tuesday, an official said.
Glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) in many polling stations delayed voting initially. Among the early voters were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa and his family at Shikaripura in the Shimoga parliamentary seat, and BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav at Chincholi in the Gulbarga (SC) constituency.
8:30am
Voter ID stronger than IED, says Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said people must vote in large numbers as the power of the Voter ID is stronger than the IED (improvised explosive device) used by terrorists.
"Terrorists' weapon is IED while democracy's strength is Voter ID. I believe that the power of Voter ID is much more stronger than the IED. Understand the importance of Voter ID and vote in large numbers," Modi told the media after casting his vote here. ??Modi said voters of India were wise to decide whom to vote. "They know the difference between good and bad."
He said the feeling one gets after voting was akin to what one feels after the holy dip during the Kumbh.?
8:00am
Faulty EVMs delay voting in Kerala: Numerous complaints of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported from across Kerala.
The malfunctioning was pointed out by none other than Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who said that election officials appear to have failed to ensure that the EVMs worked properly. "I myself had to wait for a while and I was told that the EVMs are not working. I am also told that this is the case in other places also," Vijayan told the media in Kannur after he voted.
The Leader of Opposition, who voted in Alappuzha, also complained about faulty EVMs. At a booth in Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency, even after two hours after polling began officially, voting had not begun at one booth because the EVMs would not work.
Thiruvananthapuram District Collector K. Vasuki rubbished reports that at a booth in Kovalam in the state capital, whenever the button for the Congress candidate was pressed, the light against the BJP symbol lit up. "This has been checked and this is not true," said Vasuki.
7:30am
Peaceful voting underway in Maharashtra:  The fate of several political stalwarts, scions, royals and rebels, including Shiv Sena Union Minister Anant Geete, state BJP President Raosaheb Danve-Patil and big political clans, will be decided by voters in: Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Raigad, Pune, Baramati, Ahmednagar, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hathkanangale constituencies.
The main contests are between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena and opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, besides the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) Dalit-Muslim front comprising Prakash Ambedkar's Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh and Owaisi brothers' All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, and some local/regional parties.
Among the early voters were Danve-Patil, NCP senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar with his family, Bollywood actor Amol Palekar and his family and others.
Snaky queues of voters were witnessed outside polling stations in Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg and other places with enthusiastic first timers and cool senior citizens lined up to exercise their franchise.
7:25am
Modi seeks blessings from his mother: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cast his vote at a polling booth in Ranip, Ahmedabad, a part ofthe Gujarat's Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency, in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
Modi arrived at the polling booth in Nishan Higher Secondary School along with Shah and party workers. He met his mother at her residence before heading to the booth. In a photo, he is seen with his hands folded and touching the feet of his mother, Heeraben Modi, 98. After voting, he walked in a procession on the streets of Ahmedabad.
7:14am
Modi votes in Ahmedabad:  PM Narendra Modi  cast his vote at a polling booth in Ranip, Ahmedabad, a part ofthe Gujarat's Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency, in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
6:14am
6:10am
6:05am

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Web Report

Published: Tue 23 Apr 2019, 6:05 AM

Last updated: Wed 24 Apr 2019, 1:31 AM

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