Electioneering for the second phase of the Lok Sabha election ended on Wednesday. 88 constituencies spanning across 12 states are going to polls in this phase on Friday.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Former Home Minister of Chhattisgarh Tamradhwaj Sahu, Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Karnataka DY CM DK Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh, BJP's Tejashwi Surya, Congress' KC Venugopal, Shashi Tharoor, and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar are among the 1206 candidates contesting in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
On Friday, April 26, the fate of these key candidates will be sealed in EVM machines after the voting of the second phase.
Rahul Gandhi
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has one more time choses the southern state Kerala's this Wayanad seat to become the member of Lok Sabha. Rahul is sitting MP from Wayanad and this time he will face BJP's K Surendra and CPI's Annie Raja to get elected. Kerala's Wayanad is one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi secured a landslide victory by defeating CPI's PP Suneer by over 430,000 votes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi | File Photo
Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is aiming for a fourth victory in Thiruvananthapuram. To halt Tharoor's winning streak and expand its presence in the southern state, the BJP has nominated Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against the Congress leader. Tharoor clinched his first parliamentary election victory in 2009 by defeating CPI's P Ramachandran Nair by nearly one lakh votes. In 2014, although the margin decreased significantly, he still secured victory against BJP's O Rajagopal, who garnered close to 282,000 votes, while Tharoor managed to secure around 297,000 votes. In 2019, Tharoor defeated BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan by a margin of approximately 100,000 votes.
Gujarat Assembly Polls 2022: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor opts out of campaign | File
Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Bharatiya Janata Party party has pitted Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Chandrasekhar who was born in a Malyali family in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, has a master's degree in his name in computer science from Illionois Institute Of Technology in Chicago. Currently, he represents Karnataka state in upper house of the parliament.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar |
Bhupesh Baghel
The Congress party has nominated former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat. Political observers anticipate a fierce battle here as Congress leaves no stone unturned to wrest the seat from the BJP. The BJP has held this seat since 1998, with Raman Singh, former Chief Minister of the state, winning it in 1999. Since then, the Congress has struggled to snatch the seat from the BJP. Bhupesh Baghel will face BJP's Santosh Pandey, the incumbent MP, who seeks his third victory in Rajnandgaon.
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel | (PTI Photo)
HD Kumarswamy
Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been nominated by the ruling alliance NDA from the Mandya seat. He will face Chandru Star of the Congress party. In 2019, Sumalatha, the wife of actor Ambareesh, contested as an independent candidate and emerged victorious. Sumalatha joined the BJP on April 5 in the presence of former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, in Bengaluru. Reportedly, Sumalatha wanted to contest from the Mandya seat and had expressed her views against the seat going to JDS in the seat-sharing deal.
JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy | Twitter
Tejasvi Surya
BJP's Tejasvi Surya will face Congress' Sowmya Reddy in the Lok Sabha elections for the Bangalore South seat. The BJP has held this seat since 1991. Tejasvi Surya is contesting to secure his second victory from the seat. In 2019, he defeated Congress' BK Hariprasad by a margin of more than 330,000 votes.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya Records 434% Annual Wealth Growth In 5 Years | Photo Credit: Twitter/@Tejasvi_Surya
Hema Malini
BJP has fielded Actress-turned politician Hema Malini from the Uttar Pradesh's Mathura Lok Sabha seat. Hema Malini, a two-time incumbent MP and former Rajya Sabha member, has been representing the Mathura constituency for the BJP since 2014. As she prepares for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, aiming for a third consecutive term, Hema Malini faces competition from Mukesh Dhangar of the Congress. In the 2019, Hema Malini had defeated Rashtriya Lok Dal's Kunwar Narendra Singh with the margin of over over 293,000 votes.
Hema Malini |
Arun Govil
Arun Govil, who played the characted of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's iconic Ramayan serial is cotesting from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut Lok Sabha seat. This year, BJP has replaced 3 term MP from the Meerut seat, Rajendra Agrawal with Govil. Rajendra Agrawal had defeated BSP's Haji Yaqoob Qureshi in a close contest with a margin of over 5000 votes. This year, Arun Govil will face Samajwadi Party's Sunita Verama and BSP's Devvrat Kumar Tyagi.
Pappu Yadav
Pappu Yadav, who merged his Jan Adhikar Party party with the Congress Party days after the Elections Commission announced the schedule for 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is poised to contest from Purnia Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate. In seat-sharing arrangement in Mahagathbandhan, Purnia seat had gone to RJD's kitty. Despite this, Pappu Yadav is contesting from the seat. Pappu Yadav will compete against RJD's Bima Bharti and JD(U) candidate Santosha Kumar Kushwaha. In 2019, Kushwaha had defeated Congress candidate Uday Singh with a margin on over 60, 000 votes.
Navneet Rana
The BJP has given a ticket to actress-turned-politician Navneet Kaur Rana from the Amravati seat. Rana, the sitting MP from the constituency, will face Congress' Balwant Basawant Wankhede. In 2019, Rana, as an independent candidate backed by Congress and NCP, defeated Shiv Sena's Anandraon Adsul. Before 2019, Shiv Sena held the seat from 1999 to 2019. Former President Pratibha Patil was elected from this seat as a Member of Parliament in 1991.
Navneet Rana | PTI
88 constituencies spanning across 12 states will vote in the second phase of Lok Sabha Elections on April 26. Additionally, 15 Assembly Constituencies in Outer Manipur PC will go to polls on April 19 (Phase 1), and 13 ACs in this PC will go to polls on April 26. The votes will be counted on June 4 for all the 7 phases.
