Other prominent candidates include Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, and Shantanu Thakur who are contesting from Mumbai North (Maharashtra), Fatehpur (UP), and Bangaon (WB), respectively. Other notable candidates include LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan from Hajipur (Bihar), Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde from Kalyan (Maharashtra), and BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy and RJD president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya, both from Saran (Bihar).
In Uttar Pradesh, five Union ministers are in the fray: Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Smriti Irani (Amethi), Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj), and Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma (Jalaun). The Lucknow East assembly constituency will also witness a bypoll.
Rahul Gandhi, Raebareli and a battle with a friend-turned-foe
Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, is also fighting for Rae Bareli, a traditional stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, has represented the constituency since 2004. BJP has fielded UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh against him. In Amethi, Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019, is seeking a second term, while the Congress has fielded KL Sharma, an aide of the Gandhi family.
Senior BJP leader Rajnath is eyeing a fourth term from Lucknow, facing off against SP MLA Ravidas Mehrotra from Lucknow Central. In the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, which includes the temple town of Ayodhya, the main contest is between sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh, who is seeking a hat-trick, and Awadhesh Prasad, the SP MLA from Milkipur (SC) assembly constituency in Ayodhya.
‘Vote To Save Democracy’: Cong Leader Digvijaya Singh Warns Of ‘Change In Constitution’
In Baramulla, Omar Abdullah is contesting against former separatist Sajad Lone, ex-MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias ‘Engineer Rashid’ (currently lodged in Tihar jail), and the PDP’s former Rajya Sabha member Fayaz Ahmad Mir, among 21 other candidates. The constituency has more than 500 centenarians among its 17.37 lakh eligible voters, and political observers expect a high turnout following the huge crowds at election rallies and roadshows in the first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
In Ladakh, Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal, BJP’s Tashi Gyalson, and Independent candidate and NC rebel Haji Hanifa Jan are engaged in a close contest.
‘Gaddar Sena’: Uddhav Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi On Maharashtra Vote; ‘Less Than 23 Seats For BJP’
Over 8.95 crore people are eligible to vote in this round, and 9.47 lakh polling officials have been deployed across 94,732 polling stations.
The states and UTs covered in this phase include Maharashtra (13 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats), West Bengal (7 seats), Bihar (5 seats), Jharkhand (3 seats), Odisha (5 seats), Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat), and Ladakh (1 seat). This phase is crucial for the BJP, as over 40 of these seats were previously held by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
‘Agniveer Scheme Discriminatory’: Rahul Gandhi’s Big Attack On PM Modi
The Election Commission has called upon city dwellers in Mumbai, Thane, and Lucknow to turn out in higher numbers, as these cities have historically shown apathy towards voting. So far, the last four phases have registered a total voter turnout of 66.95 per cent.
Security has been stepped up in West Bengal’s seven constituencies, which have a history of election-related violence, with over 57 per cent of the polling stations identified as sensitive in this phase.
Bengal Poll Violence: BJP Candidate Attacked; TMC-BJP Clash Near Polling Booths
Around 45.1 crore electors have exercised their franchise in the last four phases, with polling for 23 states and Union Territories and 379 seats completed so far.
The sixth and seventh phases are scheduled for May 25 and June 1, respectively, with the counting of votes set to take place on June 4.
