Today was the 3rd phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 which had 117 seats going for polling. The voter turnout for the last two phases was an average of 69.47% and today’s third phase has shown 66.38% updated as of 11:30 PM. With this, the average voter turnout after three phases stands at 68.43%. This means the present voter turnout is higher than that of the 2014 voter turnout of 66%.
After 3 phases the total number of seats that have gone for polling are 303/543 seats. We now have just 240 seats with 4 phases to go which means with this phase the winner could be already decided. But then we all have to wait till 19th may for the exit polls and 23rd may for the results day to know who will be the winner. One thing is pretty sure that this is the most anticipated elections not just for India but also for the World and there are innumerable events happening in the parts of the country. Violence in West Bengal, Poor voter turnout in Kashmir, High voter turnout in Wayanad and many more.
Let’s look at the top 10 seats for this phase:
1. Wayanad – Kerala – Rahul Gandhi is without any doubt winning this seat, as per the data from Election Commission the voter turnout was 74.83% and Rahul is expected to win with a high majority.
2. Thrissur – This is not going to be an easy contest, though this will be a triangular contest between BJP vs INC vs CPI, the real contest is between BJP and INC. Tough one to tell but quite seems like it’s BJP who would win it.
3. Thiruvananthapuram – Kerala – Shashi Tharoor is the name known for his English is the major Congress leader, more than Congress Tharoor has to win it for himself, but then the things have changed a lot for him and are more likely to lose the elections this time. This would mean the victory could be for the K Rajashekaran from BJP.
4. Shimoga – Karnataka – Moving into the land of Karnataka, Shimoga is a crucial seat in Karnataka for any party. Expected that BJP would win this even after the alliance between the JDS and INC.
5. Baramati – Maharashtra – The NCP’s safe seat. Baramati is the seat which is always with the NCP and the sitting MP Supriya Sule is again contesting and is expected to win hands down here.
6. Gandhinagar – Gujarat – Marking the entry of Amit Shah is the constituency of LK Advani. Amit Shah will be hoping that he will retain the seat and also bring in a number of voters on his side. So, this will mark the Amit Shah’s entry into the Lok Sabha.
7. Puri – Odisha – The stronghold of BJD. But then here also there have been a lot of groundwork done by the BJP’s members and are expecting to make inroads into the Odisha. Dr Sambit Patra the spokesperson of BJP is standing this time for BJP and will want to win this battle.
8. Rampur – Uttar Pradesh – the state which gave BJP the most number of seats and BJP knows that there are losses coming from UP. But in Rampur, the controversy by Azam Khan has resulted in sympathy for Jayaprada and this could be her victory.
9. Pilibhit – UP – Varun Gandhi, the young BJP leader who has a lot of positive feeling will be going against the Hemraj Verma and is expected to win the battle outright which is what the voter turnout increase also tells us.
10. Mainpuri – UP – this is the seat where Mulayam Singh who wanted Modi to come to power is contesting. Mulayam Singh from SP+BSP alliance might see Modi winning the national elections but at Mainpuri it might be Mulayam all the way and a defeat for BJP.
Let’s look at the state-wise seats and the probable winning numbers:
1. Assam – 4 seats of Assam are going for polls and a higher voter turnout than 2014 means BJP which won all the 4 seats in 2014 might also repeat this time too.
2. Bihar – This phase saw 5 seats of Northern Bihar going for polls and BJP in 2014 holds 4 of them. This time too the same might be repeated.
3. Goa – The two seats of Goa went to polls today amongst a low voter turnout. With Manohar Parrikar Goans seem to have lost interest. BJP which swept both seats in Goa last time might have to share one with Congress this time
4. Gujarat – Voting in Gujarat was similar to what it was last time but repeating 26/26 again is going to be a tough ask. BJP might concede 2-4 seats to Congress this time.
5. Jammu Kashmir – Very low voter turnout will mean even the sitting MP Mehbooba Mufti might not win.
6. Karnataka – The remaining 14 seats of North Karnataka went for polls and the polls were heavy as the previous phase in South Karnataka. BJP holds 11 out of 14 and with an alliance of Cong-JDS playing out big in Hyderabad Karnataka BJP might end up winning 9-10 seats.
7. Kerala – 20 seats – Congress is doing much better here and expected to win good numbers at 14 seats, BJP will only make its presence by winning 2 and CPI will see bad fall to just 4 seats.
8. Maharashtra –The 14 seats, mainly from Western Maharashtra, the sugar belt and stronghold of Sharad Pawar going to polls. Last time BJP won 11 out of 14 but a lesser turnout this time means the enthusiastic BJP voter has not come out and voted in full force. This might cost BJP a couple of seats and they might win 9 seats giving 5 to Cong-NCP alliance.
9. Odisha – 6 seats went to polls and Odisha saw a very low voter turnout which might harm the ruling BJD and BJP might grab 3-4 seats here.
10. Tripura – 1 seat – BJP’s victory
11. Uttar Pradesh – 10 seats – Crucial State and BJP held 7 out of 10 last time but this time it looks like BJP will fall to 6 and lose 4 to SP+BSP
12. West Bengal – 5 seats – the goons state is not letting the polls conducted peacefully, this could be a negative for ruling party and BJP is expected to win 2 and TMC will take the other 3
13. Chattisgarh – 7 seats – Recent assembly elections have shown us how much BJP has lost and they are expected to fall to 4 seats with INC winning 3 seats
14. Dadra Nagar Haveli – 1 – BJP winner
15. Daman Diu – 1 – BJP winner
In 2014 NDA had 67 out of 117 seats and going BJP might retain the same number and might add 2-3 seats more to its kitty and might touch the 70 figure. Congress is also benefitting and might add close to 10 seats to the 18 they won last time. Others are the big losers who might drop to less than 15 seats from 25 plus they had last time
