Election Phase 2: High-stake contests, key seats, contestants in 13 states

With the first phase done and dusted, 89 Lok Sabha constituencies across 12 states and one Union territory are all set to vote in the second phase of the elections on April 26.

While Kerala will vote in a single phase, voting will be wrapped up in Rajasthan, Manipur and Tripura on April 26. A good portion of Karnataka, including Bengaluru, will be voting, too. The voting will begin at 7 am and conclude by 5 pm.

Major contests are anticipated in Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Bihar where prominent national leaders will vie for coveted seats. They include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad), Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla (Kota, BJP), Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram, Congress), Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur, BJP), Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar (Balurghat), Pappu Yadav (Purnia, Independent), actor turned politician Arun Govil (Meerut, BJP), and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot (Jalore, Congress) among others.

With the first phase witnessing incidents of violence and allegations of vote tampering and voter intimidation in West Bengal, the Centre will dispatch 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in addition to the 277 companies already present in the state to ensure law and order.

Here's a look at the major fights in the states that will vote in the second phase:

KERALA

Constituencies going to polls: All 20 (Kasargod, Kannur, Vadakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Mallapuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kolam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram)

While interesting battles await the southern state, special focus will be on the Wayanad seat where LDF candidate Annie Raja has challenged incumbent MP and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The BJP has fielded its state president K Surendran from the seat. While Rahul’s shift to Kerala has faced scrutiny in the past, it has attracted more criticism with the CPI, an ally of the Congress under the INDIA alliance, fielding Annie, a national figure, after failed attempts by the Left to dissuade the Gandhi scion from contesting from the state.

Close contests will also be seen in the seats of Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Pathanamthitta.

In Thiruvananthapuram, incumbent MP and Congress stalwart Shashi Tharoor will defend his seat against Union minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Thiruvananthapuram is the sole constituency in Kerala where NDA candidates have managed to clinch the second position in polls since 2014. Tharoor, who has been winning from the seat since his entry into politics in 2009 is facing his toughest election owing to the resentment of the minority community over his complicated stance on the Gaza attack by Israel.

In Thrissur, the BJP has once again put its weight behind actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi, owing to his popularity and improved performance in the constituency. Gopi will contest against sitting UDF MP TN Prathapan and LDF’s VS Sunil Kumar. Despite facing defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gopi secured 28.19 per cent of the votes, marking a steep increase of 17 per cent from the BJP’s 2014 tally. His vote share was 31.30 per cent when the BJP fielded him from the seat during the assembly polls in 2021.

A bastion of the UDF, Pathanamthitta is set to see a triangular contest between LDF candidate and former finance minister Dr Thomas Isaaac, Anil K. Antony, son of former Kerala chief minister AK Antony – who switched allegiance from Congress to BJP last year – and sitting MP and UDF candidate Anto Antony.

A fierce two-way contest between the LDF and the UDF is also expected in Vadakara, where the CPI(M) has fielded its most-valued candidate KK Shailaja, famous for her able handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, against Congress’ young face, Shafi Parambil.

With the duel mostly between LDF and UDF, the central theme has been on either’s ability to effectively challenge the Narendra Modi government.

MADHYA PRADESH

Constituencies going to polls: 7 of 29 (Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Betul)

In Madhya Pradesh, one of the interesting contests is underway in the Satna constituency, where incumbent MP and BJP candidate Ganesh Singh and Congress’ Satna MLA Siddharth Kushwaha are engaged in a pitched battle. Kushwaha, a trenchant critic of Singh, had defeated him from the Satna Assembly seat last year, when the BJP fielded the latter from the constituency. Hoping to achieve a similar result in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has now fielded Kushwaha against Singh from the Satna parliamentary seat.

In Khajuraho, state BJP president and incumbent MP VD Sharma looks all set for a smooth victory. The Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) as part of the INDIA bloc seat-sharing deal decided to back IAS officer and All India Forward Bloc candidate RB Prajapati, after the nomination papers of SP candidate Mira Yadav, were rejected by the election returning officer for alleged inconsistencies.

The BJP appears to be on a strong footing in Tikamgarh, where it has re-nominated seven-time MP and Union minister Virendra Kumar as its candidate. Kumar, who has been winning the Tikamgarh seat ever since it came into existence in 2009 is up against Congress’ Pankaj Ahirwar.

In the Damoh and Hoshangabad constituencies, both saffron strongholds, the BJP has fielded fresh faces since its victors of the 2019 polls, Prahlad Patel and Uday Pratap Singh, respectively, were elected to the MP assembly last December and are currently ministers in the state government.

Although the BJP has been winning the Damoh Lok Sabha seat since 1989, the current polls have evoked much interest as the party’s candidate, Rahul Lodhi, a former Congress MLA who defected to the BJP in 2021, lost the subsequent bypoll and was denied a ticket by the party in last year’s assembly polls, is now pitted against his one-time Congress colleague, Tarvar Singh Lodhi, also a former MLA.

RAJASTHAN

Constituencies going to polls: 13 of 25 (Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, Jhalawar-Baran)

The second phase and last of the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan will witness the ruling BJP fielding its big guns in the polls. Apart from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is a sitting parliamentarian from Kota constituency, two Union ministers, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, from Jodhpur and Kailash Chaudhary from Barmer, will contest the elections from their respective seats.

Birla will face off against Congress candidate Prahlad Gunjal – a loyalist of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje – who recently switched allegiance to the Grand Old Party.

Barmer will see a triangular contest between BJP’s Chaudhary, Congress’ Ummeda Ram Beniwal and Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati.

In Jodhpur, sitting MP and Union minister Shekhawat faces a challenge from new Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda.

The electoral contest in Rajasthan is also interesting this time because it will seal the fate of two sons. While Congress leader Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, is contesting from Jalore constituency, Dushyant Singh, son of former chief minister Raje, has been fielded from the Jhalawar-Baran seat.

UTTAR PRADESH

Constituencies going to polls: 8 of 80 (Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam B Nagar, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Mathura)

The BJP, which is riding high on the public euphoria centred around the inauguration of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, has fielded TV actor turned politician Arun Govil from Meerut, banking on his famous image as ‘Lord Rama’ in Ramanand Sagar’s popular serial Ramayan. It is interesting that the career of Govil is intertwined with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement – in the mid-1980s when Govil was playing the role of Lord Rama in Ramayana, the BJP was spearheading the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for the construction of the temple.

While the BJP replaced its three-time MP Rajendra Agarwal to give Govil a ticket, SP changed its candidates twice to finally nominate former mayor Sunita Verma from the seat. The BSP has fielded Devvrat Tyagi from the seat.

The second phase of the polls will also see Bollywood actor Hema Malini vying for a third term from Mathura.

The focus will also be on Amroha’s sitting MP Kunwar Danish Ali, who shifted from the Bahujan Samaj (BSP) to the Congress in March this year and will be contesting on an INDIA bloc ticket from the seat.

MAHARASHTRA

Constituencies going to polls: 8 of 48 (Budhana, Akola, Amravati (SC), Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani)

The second phase polling in Maharashtra will intensify the contest between the two political formations of the state – the BJP-led Mahayuti which includes the Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar led factions of the Shiv Sena and the NCP, respectively, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of the Congress and the NCP and Shiv Sena factions of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, respectively.

The MVA’s inability to keep Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) within the INDIA fold could play a spoiler for Congress’s Abhay Patil in the Akola constituency, which Ambedkar is also contesting from, and give the BJP’s Anup Dhotre an edge.

A prestige battle between the Congress and the BJP is also at play in the Nanded Lok Sabha seat. The BJP has entrusted Congress turncoat and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, known for his hold in Nanded, to ensure the victory of party candidate Prataprao Chikhalikar against Vasantrao Chavan in the Lok Sabha seat.

The contest in Amravati between BJP’s Navneet Rana and the Congress’s Balwant Wankhede too has generated intense public interest. The Supreme Court recently overturned a 2021 Bombay High Court verdict calling Rana’s SC caste certificate fake.

In the Yavatmal-Washim seat, candidates from the two factions of the Shiv Sena – Rajashri Patil of the Shinde camp and Sanjay Deshmukh of the Uddhav faction – are pitted against each other. Patil’s husband, Hemant Patil, had won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the neighbouring Hingoli seat as the then united Shiv Sena’s candidate. This time round, the BJP reportedly forced Shinde to drop Hemant Patil as its Hingoli candidate (the Shinde Sena has fielded Baburao Kohalikar from the constituency) and field his wife from Yavatmal, where she is now facing barbs – from the public and Sena-BJP members alike – of being an outsider.

WEST BENGAL

Constituencies going to polls: 3 of 42 (Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat)

All eyes will be on Balurghat and Darjeeling because of the high-stake the BJP has in these constituencies.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar is seeking re-election from Balurghat, banking on “Modi magic” and perceived anti-incumbency against the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), particularly over corruption charges and allegations of sexual abuse against some TMC leaders by the women of Sandeshkhali. Majumdar is pitted against state consumer affairs minister Biplab Mitra.

In Darjeeling, the BJP, which has been winning the seat since 2009, has fielded sitting MP Raju Bista against TMC’s Gopal Lama. With Darjeeling being the first Lok Sabha seat the BJP won in Bengal, the party’s consecutive victories are attributed to its promise of finding a permanent solution to the Gorkhaland demand of the Nepalis residing in the hills. Amid backlash against the party for failing to keep its promise, it will be interesting to watch if Bista wins the seat again. The failure of TMC and Congress to work out an alliance in the state may favour the BJP.

ASSAM

Constituencies going to polls: 5 of 14 (Darrang-Udalguri, Diphu, Karimganj, Silchar, Nagaon)

If there is any one seat in Assam that the Congress is almost sure of winning, then it is Nagaon. Banking on minority votes – which rose beyond 50 per cent due to the recent delimitation – the party has fielded senior leader and former Assam minister Pradyut Bordoloi from the seat. The BJP which has fielded Congress turncoat Suresh Bora here, is hoping that AIUDF’s Aminul Islam will upset the Congress’s apple cart by taking a considerable slice of minority votes.

The nascent constituency of Darrang-Udalguri created by delimitation of the erstwhile Mangaldai seat is all set for a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). Six out of 11 assembly segments of the parliamentary constituency fall under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), where the BPF has an edge. The BJP is a dominating player in other five assembly segments. Here, BJP MP Dilip Saikia is pitted against Congress’s Madhab Rajbongshi and Durga Das Boro of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

The Congress and the TMC have made the CAA-NRC issue and deactivation of the Aadhaar card of around 27 lakh people major poll issues in the Bengali-dominated Silchar (SC) Lok Sabha seat in Assam’s Barak valley. The BJP, however, is confident of retaining the seat riding on strong Hindutva influence among the state’s Bengali Hindus. The main fight here is between Assam excise minister and BJP nominee Parimal Suklabaidya and the Congress’s youth leader Surjya Kanta Sarkar.

BIHAR

Constituencies going to polls: 5 of 40 (Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Banka)

Of the five constituencies going to polls, JD(U) candidates will face Congress nominees in three seats and RJD candidates in two seats.

The Purnia Lok Sabha seat is expected to witness a high-stake battle between independent candidate Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav, INDIA bloc candidate Bima Bharti, who recently switched from JD(U) to RJD, and JD(U)’s Santosh Kushwaha. The contest here became interesting after Yadav rebelled against the Congress and declared himself as an Independent candidate after Purnia, from where he was expecting to contest on a Congress ticket, was allotted to RJD under the INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing arrangement.

MANIPUR

Constituency going to polls: 1 of 2 (Outer Manipur)

The Lok Sabha constituency, which had its first round of polling on April 19, is witnessing a direct contest between the Congress and the Naga People’s Front (NPF).

While NPF has fielded Kachui Timothy Zimik as its candidate from the seat, the Congress has nominated MLA Alfred K Arthur.

In this tribal-reserved seat, the deciding factor will be the Kuki votes. Various organisations of the community have given a call not to vote for the BJP.

TRIPURA

Constituency going to polls: 1 of 2 (Tripura East)

In Tripura East the contest is over tribal pride and empowerment. The BJP came out with a masterstroke by forging an alliance with the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha Party of Prodyut Manikya Kishore Deb Barma, the scion of erstwhile Tripura royal family. His sister Kriti Singh Debbarma is a joint candidate of the TIPRA Motha and the BJP from the seat. She is pitted against CPI(M)-Congress candidate Jitendra Chaudhury.

JAMMU and KASHMIR

Constituency going to polls – 1 of 5 (Jammu)

After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Jammu Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a high-decibel contest between BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma and the Congress’s Raman Bhalla yet again. In 2019, with communal polarisation and jingoistic nationalism at its peak in the aftermath of the Balakot air strikes, Sharma, then a first term MP, had defeated Bhalla by a massive margin of over three lakh votes to retain the Jammu seat.

This time around, Sharma and his party are hoping that the Modi government’s controversial abrogation of Article 370 would help them retain this Hindu-dominated constituency for a third consecutive term. Aching to avenge his 2019 defeat, Bhalla is banking on the strength of the Congress and National Conference alliance coupled with the perceptible disaffection among Kashmiri Hindus, particularly the Dogra and Kashmiri Pandit communities, against the BJP to trounce his old rival.

CHHATTISGARH

Constituencies going to polls: 3 of 11 (Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker)

With former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and veteran leader Tamradhwaj Sahu in the fray from Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund constituencies, respectively, as Congress candidates, political stakes are, arguably, the highest in the second round of polling in Chhattisgarh.

Baghel, under whose leadership the Congress suffered an unexpected rout in the Chhattisgarh assembly polls last year, faces a stiff challenge from incumbent MP and BJP candidate Santosh Pandey from the seat. The candidature of Baghel, an OBC, from the saffron stronghold, shows the Congress’ resolve to further intensify its efforts at wooing the electorally formidable combination of backward castes, Dalits and adivasis.

Sahu, another veteran OBC leader, too faces a stiff challenge against the BJP’s Roop Kumari Chaudhary in Mahasamund, an erstwhile Congress stronghold, but has overwhelmingly voted for the BJP since the 2009 general elections. Like Baghel, Sahu too hails from Durg and is, as such, an outsider in the Mahasamund constituency.

KARNATAKA

Constituencies going to polls: 14 of 28 (Udupi Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamrajnagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikkballapur, Kolar)

In Karnataka, the electoral battle will be mainly between the BJP and the Congress. The JD(S), a significant player in the state’s politics, has joined hands with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Among the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies that will vote on April 26, the spotlight is on four crucial seats – Udupi-Chikmagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru and Mandya.

While the BJP gave the ticket for the Udupi-Chikmagaluru seat to Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Kota Srinivas Poojary, after replacing him with sitting MP Shobha Karandlaje, the Congress has fielded former minister K Jayaprakash Hegde from the constituency. The election is being portrayed as a fight between two “gentlemen” with both Poojary and Hedge respected for their statesmanship.

The BJP which is facing backlash from party workers in the region, especially over allegations that Karandlaje rarely visited the constituency after winning the 2019 polls, has made a cautious move by not re-nominating her and fielding Poojari instead.

In the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha seat, both the BJP and the Congress have fielded new faces – Captain Brijesh Chauta, a former army officer from the Banta community from the BJP, and R Padmaraj, a lawyer from the Billava community from the Congress.

Interestingly, Satyajit Suratkal, a former leader of the Hindu Jagran Forum, has supported Padmaraj, indicating a shift in alliances.

The BJP’s decision to deny a ticket to four-time MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, who faced opposition from party workers, as well as the return of Arun Kumar Puttila to the party fold, seems to have mitigated anti-incumbency sentiments.

One of the most-anticipated poll battles is awaited in Mysuru where the BJP has pitted Yaduveer KC Wadiyar, the scion of the erstwhile Wadiyar royal family, against Congress candidate M Lakshmana. The constituency has been on the watchlist of the public, especially after sitting MP Prathap Simha took swipes at Yaduveer after the BJP benched him.

In the coveted seat of Mandya, the JD(S), as part of its seat-sharing deal with BJP, has fielded former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy against Congress’ Venkataramane Gowda (Star Chandru).

Winning Mandya is essential for Kumaraswamy as he wants to hand over his assembly constituency of Channapatna to his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.