Ahmedabad, May 7 (IANS): Banaskantha district in Gujarat is leading in voter participation with 45.89 per cent during the third phase in the state which saw an overall voter turnout of 37.83 per cent till 1 p.m.

Banaskantha district was closely followed by Valsad at 45.34 per cent and Bharuch at 43.12 per cent.

Sabarkantha and Chhotaudepur areas saw a voter turnout of 41.92 per cent and 42.65 per cent, respectively. However, some constituencies report lower voter turnout, with Porbandar at 30.80 per cent, Amreli at 31.48 per cent, and Ahmedabad West at 33.28 per cent.

Other notable turnout percentages include Navsari at 38.10 per cent, Bardoli at 41.67 per cent, Vadodara at 38.79 per cent, Jamnagar at 34.61per cent, Kachchh at 34.26 per cent, and Junagadh at 36.11 per cent.

Despite challenging weather conditions, voters were actively exercising their democratic rights, even as temperatures in Ahmedabad have soared to 44 degrees Celsius.

Gujarat has a total electorate of 4.97 crore eligible voters, comprising 2.56 crore males, 2.41 crore females, and 1,534 individuals from the third gender.

The voting process is being conducted across 50,788 polling booths, 17,275 in urban areas and 33,513 in rural areas.