The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls is witnessing some high-profile contests, including one for Amethi between Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Voting for the fifth of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections started at 7 am on Monday, 6 May, with 51 constituencies spread across seven states going to polls.
The states where voters are casting their ballots are: Bihar (5 parliamentary constituencies), Jammu and Kashmir (2), Jharkhand (4), Madhya Pradesh (7), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (14) and West Bengal (7).
A total of 674 candidates cutting across party lines are in the fray. Here is a closer look at some of the key candidates in the fray for the fifth phase of voting:
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Uttar Pradesh
AMETHI: Smriti Irani vs Rahul Gandhi
Amethi has been a stronghold of the Congress party for decades. Before Rahul Gandhi, the seat was held by his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
In 2014 elections, Rahul Gandhi won the elections, but with Irani’s entry, his winning margin was reduced from 3.7 lakh votes in 2009 to 1.07 lakh votes.
Smriti Irani has dubbed the fight between her and Gandhi as a fight between ‘namdaar’ and ‘kaamdar’. She has also accused Gandhi of not addressing the issues of the people of Amethi and instead, using them as a vote-bank.
Gandhi, on the other hand, has blamed the Centre for taking away development projects initiated by the UPA government in Amethi.
The seat of Amethi is once again seeing a fierce battle between Gandhi and Irani, and with SP-BSP out of the picture, it is a direct fight between the two.
RAEBARELI: Sonia Gandhi vs Dinesh Pratap
The Raebareli Lok Sabha Constituency is currently held by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. In 2014, Sonia had beaten Ajay Agrawal of BJP by bagging 63.8 percent of the vote share in this constituency.
This time around, Sonia Gandhi is squaring off against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Bihar
MUZAFFARPUR: Ajay Nishad vs Rajbhushan Choudhary Nishad
Five parliamentary constituencies of the total 40 have gone to polls in the fifth phase of voting in Bihar. Out of the five, the key contest is being fought in Muzaffarpur, as it threatens to unsettle the established political order in Bihar.
Mukesh Sahni's VIP party is battling for the rights of the Mallah (boatman) community, which has long been pro-NDA.
The constituency is seeing a close contest between BJP’s Ajay Nishad and VIP’s Rajbhushan Choudhary Nishad.
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Rajasthan
BIKANER: Arjun Ram Meghwal vs Madan Gopal Meghwal
In 2014, BJP had made a clean-sweep in Rajasthan. This time around, they are facing a much tougher contest given the anti-incumbency factor at play, as observed in the recent Assembly elections.
A key contest is being fought on the Bikaner seat that has seen a head-to-head contest between the BJP and the Congress since 1980. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal represents this constituency. He had won in 2014 with a margin of over three lakh votes.
This time, Congress has fielded Madan Gopal Meghwal, a retired IPS officer and a cousin of Arjun Ram, against him.
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh is a crucial state for the BJP this time around, for it lost the recent Assembly election here. In the fifth phase, a total of seven seats are up for grabs.
Out of the seven, the Satna Lok Sabha constituency is seeing the BJP trying to hold on to its bastion of over 20 years. This time as well, BJP has fielded its incumbent MP Ganesh Singh, who has represented the seat since 2004, against the Congress’ Raja Ram Tripathi.
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Jammu and Kashmir
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is seeing voting in two Lok Sabha constituencies. The key contest is in Ladakh, geographically the largest Parliamentary constituency of India.
In 2014, it was won by Thupstan Chhewang by just 36 votes. This time around, the seat could pose a tough challenge for the BJP as Chhewang had resigned from the party last year.
Lok Sabha Elections – Phase 5: Jharkhand
HAZARIBAGH: Jayant Sinha vs Gopal Sahu
Four seats are voting in Jharkhand in the fifth phase.
The Hazaribagh constituency, currently held by Union Minister Jayant Sinha, is seeing a close fight – with Congress’ Gopal Sahu and Communist Party of India’s Bhubaneswar Prasad Mehta also in the fray.
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