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Campaigning ends for phase two of Lok Sabha elections in 89 seats

The second round of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections is slated for April 26, subsequent to the initial phase held on April 19, which witnessed a participation rate of roughly 64 percent

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(Photo: PTI)

Press Trust of India

The second round of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections is slated for April 26, subsequent to the initial phase held on April 19, which witnessed a participation rate of roughly 64 per cent.

This phase will encompass 89 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 13 states, comprising Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jammu & Kashmir.

Bihar 

Campaigning ended on Wednesday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar where electors will decide the fate of 50 candidate in the second phase of polling on April 26.

Leading the NDA charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Purnea, a seat which is being contested by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).

 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed his first election meeting in Bihar at Bhagalpur, a seat the party is contesting after more than two decades.

The party has fielded MLA Ajeet Sharma against JD(U) MP Ajay Mandal from the seat.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed rallies in Kishanganj, the lone seat the party secured in Bihar in 2019, and at Katihar, where former Union minister Tariq Anwar is trying to wrest back his pocket borough from JD(U) MP Dulal Chandra Goswami.

The Congress is contesting nine of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats, and three of these are going to polls in the second phase.

In Kishanganj, Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM is locked in a triangular contest with the sitting Congress MP Mohd Javed and JD(U)'s Mujahid Alam. The Hyderabad MP spent four days in the Muslim-majority constituency, canvassing for Akhtarul Iman, the AIMIM's lone MLA in Bihar who also heads the party's state unit.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav continued with a spirited campaign, particularly in Purnea where party candidate Bima Bharti is pitted against JD(U) MP Abhay Kushwaha but the pitch has been queered with the entry of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who is contesting as an Independent after being denied a Congress ticket.

Polls are also due, on April 26, in Banka, where JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav's bid to retain the seat faces a challenge from his predecessor Jai Prakash Yadav of RJD.

Assam 

A high-pitched campaign for five parliamentary constituencies in Assam for the second phase of polls scheduled on April 26 ended on Wednesday.

A total of 61 candidates are in the fray.

Polling will be held for the two constituencies in Barak Valley - Silchar (SC) and Karimganj, one in the hill district - Diphu (ST) and two in the Brahmaputra Valley - Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri.

Among the national leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned during the second phase by holding a roadshow in Silchar (SC) for the BJP candidate and Assam Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, while Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also campaigned in the second phase for the party's Silchar (SC) candidate Radheshyam Biswas.

BJP's election campaign was spearheaded by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who daily held at least four rallies in all the constituencies going to the polls while Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who contested from the Dibrugarh constituency in the first phase, campaigned for the BJP candidates in Silchar (SC) and Karimganj in Barak Valley.

The opposition parties, on the other hand, mostly relied on the state leaders in their campaigns.

Lok Sabha Deputy leader of the opposition Gaurav Gogoi, Raijor Dal President Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi campaigned for the Congress candidates in Barak Valley.

Chhattisgarh

The high-decibel campaign for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls covering three seats in Chhattisgarh, where voting will take place on Friday, ended on Wednesday evening, marked by acrimonious exchanges between the main rivals BJP and the Congress over issues like corruption, the Constitution and pre-poll promises.

The saffron party's electioneering for the second phase saw rallies by prominent leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, while for the Congress, its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the campaigning. Three Lok Sabha seats -- Rajanandgaon, where former CM Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress is in the fray, Kanker (ST) and Mahasamund -- will go to polls on April 26 (Friday) in the second phase.

Some areas in these constituencies are affected by Naxal insurgency. Last week, Kanker, located in the Bastar region, saw a major anti-Naxal operation in which 29 Maoists were gunned down by security forces in an encounter. A total of 41 candidates, including three women, are in the fray in the second phase where 52,84,938 voters -- 26,05,350 men, 26,79,528 women and 60 members of the third gender -- are eligible to exercise their franchise, a poll official said.

Kerala 

The over month-long, high-octane public campaign for the April 26 Lok Sabha polls drew to a close in Kerala on Wednesday, with various political parties holding massive rallies and road shows across the state, marking its culmination. Candidates wrapped up their final outdoor campaigning by touring major centres of the constituency, reaching out to voters, and reassuring their votes.

Even the final day of election campaign was marked by the presence of various national leaders in the state, including Home Minister Amit Shah, AICC Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who addressed public meetings in various constituencies.

Madhya Pradesh

Union minister Virendra Kumar and Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma are among 80 candidates in the fray from six constituencies in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state, campaigning for which ended on Wednesday evening.

The upcoming contest is a straight fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, which had won just one of the 29 seats in MP in the 2019 general elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the main campaigner for BJP who highlighted "Modi's guarantees" while seeking a huge mandate with the "abki baar 400 paar" slogan at poll rallies in Damoh and Pipariya.

On the other hand, the Congress mainly stuck to the "threat to the Constitution" theme, with the party president Mallikarjun Kharge telling voters that the BJP would end democracy if voted to power again.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi couldn't attend a rally in Satna as he was unwell.

Voting will be held in Tikamgarh (SC), Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa and Hoshangabad constituencies, which cover 55 assembly segments, in the second phase.

Uttar Pradesh

Campaigning for the second phase of polling slated for April 26 in eight Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttar Pradesh came to an end on Wednesday evening.

The eight constituencies where voting will be held on Friday are Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura.

Prominent among the total of 91 candidates whose future will be decided in the second phase of polling are actor Hema Malini, who is seeking a third term from Mathura; and Arun Govil, who played the role of Lord Rama in the famed TV serial Ramayan. He has been fielded by the saffron party from his native place Meerut. He criss-crossed the constituency to seek support of the people.

The Congress' Danish Ali from Amroha and the BJP's Atul Garg from Ghaziabad and Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Buddha Nagar toured their constituencies seeking the people's support.

The election, which is poised for a three-cornered contest with the NDA, the INDIA bloc and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielding their candidates, witnessed senior leaders of all the political parties going all out electioneering.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned for the ruling NDA.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BSP president Mayawati and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Singh were on a hectic campaign trail of these constituencies during the past couple of days.

Rajasthan 

Electioneering ended Wednesday evening in Rajasthan for the 13 remaining seats, including two constituencies where former chief ministers campaigned for their sons.

Polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections -- the final one for Rajasthan -- will be held on Friday. Voting took place on the other 12 seats on April 19.

Among the 152 candidates in the fray in this phase are two Union ministers, the BJP state president and a former Assembly Speaker.

In addition, bypolls will be held for the Bagidora Assembly seat, which fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya joined the BJP. Malviya is contesting the Banswara Lok Sabha seat as the BJP candidate.

Other than the Banswara parliamentary constituency, Barmer-Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jalore, Chittorgarh and Kota-Bundi are the hot seats in this phase.

The other constituencies going to polls are Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran. Voting will be held on April 26 from 7 am to 6 pm.

Maharashtra 

As many as 204 candidates will battle it out for eight Lok Sabha seats on Friday in Maharashtra where the high-voltage campaigning for the second phase of polling ended on Wednesday evening.

Voting in Lok Sabha seats of Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim in western Vidarbha, Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani in Marathwada will be held on April 26 (Friday) from 7 am to 6 pm at 16,589 polling centres.

A total of 1,49,25,912 voters -- 77, 21, 374 males, 72,04,106 females and 432 of the third gender -- are eligible to exercise their franchise and decide the electoral fate of 204 candidates.

Amravati has the highest number of candidates at 37, followed by Parbhani (34), Hingoli (33),

Wardha (24), Nanded (23), Buldhana (21), Yavatmal-Washim (17) and Akola (15).

The second phase will see a face-off between the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) in Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim and Hingoli seats.

In Buldhana, sitting Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav is pitted against Narendra Khedekar of the Sena (UBT).

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First Published: Apr 24 2024 | 7:43 PM IST

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