Lok Sabha elections 2024: From Wayanad to Shivamogga, key battles in the second phase
A total of 88 parliamentary constituencies, spread across 12 states and Union Territories, will go to polls in the second phase of 2024 Lok Sabha elections slated for Friday, April 26. Among the seats up for grabs in the second phase, 20 are in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, seven in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Bihar and Assam, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each in Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. Besides them, polling will also be conducted for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur constituency. (Image: Shutterstock)A total of 2,633 nominations were filed from the 12 states and Union Territories, out of which 1,206, along with four candidates from Outer Manipur, are in the fray in the second phase. Here’s a look at some of the key contests in the second phase: (Image: PTI) Wayanad | One of the most closely monitored seats in the polls, Wayanad sent Congress’ Rahul Gandhi to the Lower House of Parliament in 2019. The Congress ex-president is eyeing re-election from this crucial Kerala seat in the 2024 general elections and is competing with Annie Raja, wife of CPI General Secretary D Raja. Also in the contest is K Surendran, president of the BJP’s state unit. (Image: PTI) Thiruvananthapuram | One of the most high-profile seats, Thiruvananthapuram is witnessing a triangular battle between three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, former CPI MP Pannyan Raveendran and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar. During the 2019 elections, Tharoor defeated rival BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan by a total of 99,989 votes. (Image: Reuters) Meerut | A stronghold of the BJP, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh has been represented by Rajendra Agarwal since 2009. However, the saffron party this time has replaced the sitting MP with popular actor Arun Govil, who is best known for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the ‘Ramayana’ series. He is up against the joint candidate of the Samajwadi Party and Congress — former BSP Meerut mayor Sunita Verma. (Image: Wikimedia Commons) Jalore | The Jalore seat in Rajasthan is seeing a close contest between Congress’ high-profile candidate Vaibhav Gehlot, the son of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Lumbaram Choudhary, a low-profile grassroots-level leader from the BJP. The saffron party has held this seat since 2004. However, this time, it has replaced three-time MP Devji Patel with Choudhary. Shivamogga | Karnataka’s Shivamogga constituency is seeing a high-octane political drama this election season as KS Eshwarappa, the suspended BJP leader, is contesting polls from this seat as an Independent candidate. He is up against sitting MP and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra as well as Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar’s wife Geetha Shivrajkumar, who is representing the Congress. (Image: PTI) Gautam Buddha Nagar | Yet another BJP stronghold, the Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh witnesses the sitting BJP MP Mahesh Sharma eyeing a third consecutive term. He is fielded against Samajwadi Party’s Mahendra Singh Nagar and BSP’s Rajendra Singh Solanki. (Image: drmaheshsharma.com) Rajnandgaon | After Congress’ shocking defeat in last year’s Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is now looking forward to wresting the Rajnandgaon seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party has lost general elections from this seat only once since the state was formed in 2000. In the 2024 polls, Baghel is competing with sitting BJP MP Santosh Pandey, who is eyeing a second consecutive term. Purnia | Purnia in Bihar is seeing a three-way battle between sitting JD(U) MP Santosh Kumar Kushwaha, RJD’s Bima Bharti and Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who is contesting as an Independent candidate. Kushwaha last time defeated Congress candidate Uday Singh by more than 2.63 lakh votes. Nagaon | Assam’s Nagaon, a Muslim-dominated constituency, witnesses a three-way contest between the Congress, BJP and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). In the 2019 elections, the Congress wrestled this seat from the BJP after a long gap as its candidate Pradyut Bordoloi defeated the saffron party’s Rupak Sarmah. In 2024, Bordoloi is seeking re-election and is fielded against BJP’s Suresh Bora. (Image: Pradyut Bordoloi,/X) Mathura | Actor-turned-politician Hema Malini has been representing this constituency in Uttar Pradesh since 2014. This time, the BJP leader is eyeing a third consecutive term from this seat and is pitted against Congress candidate Mukesh Dhangar. (Image: PTI)
