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Amidst the Lok Sabha election, voters of Dhubri Ghat in Assam, used boats to arrive at a polling booth to cast their votes during the third phase of elections.
While speaking with ANI, one of the voters highlighted the plights faced by the residents while going to vote by boat. He said, "Going via boats is very difficult as this is the season of storms and rainfall. People have small kids and we cannot leave them behind alone at home. So we have to take them a well on the boat. These are small boats and if a storm comes, it will be difficult for us." He added further, "The authorities should have given us big boats as we feel terrified and we are facing problems." Meanwhile, another voter named Dibyankar Deb Baral stressed the right to vote and said, "Today is a very important day for me. My one vote will decide the government that will be formed. And as an Indian citizen, it is my responsibility to cast a vote." Voting began in four parliamentary constituencies in Assam - Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Dhubri, in the third phase of polls begins on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. Over 81.49 lakh voters of four parliamentary constituencies in Assam will decide the fate of 47 candidates in the third phase of polls. Meanwhile, the polling also started for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and union territories in the third phase of the general election on Tuesday at 7:00 am. The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed. In this phase, more than 1300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray. A total of 17.24 crore voters are eligible to cast their franchise in this phase at 1.85 lakh polling stations. Seventy-five delegates from 23 countries will see the poll process, the poll panel said. Voting will not take place for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has postponed the polling to the sixth phase to be held on May 25. Originally, voting was scheduled to be held on 94 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase. Prominent leaders to contest in today's poll battle include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, among others. In the 2019 general election, the BJP won 72 of the 93 seats that go to the polls today. The Lok Sabha elections are being held across seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The counting is scheduled for June 4. The Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest power by stopping the juggernaut. (ANI)
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