The culmination of the 2024 general elections is drawing near as the marathon seven-phase voting process reaches its final stage. On June 1st, polling will take place in 57 Lok Sabha constituencies across seven states and one Union Territory. These include 13 seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand, and one in Chandigarh. A total of 904 candidates are contesting across these constituencies, with one of the most closely watched battles being in Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third term.
Modi, who made his Lok Sabha debut from Varanasi in 2014, faces competition from Congress’s Ajay Rai, who is supported by the Samajwadi Party. In 2019, Modi secured over 63% of the votes, significantly widening his margin of victory. Meanwhile, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for re-election from Patna Sahib, a seat once held by Shatrughan Sinha, who is now with the TMC. Prasad faces a challenge from Congress’s Anshul Abhijeet, son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
In Karakat, Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh shifted his candidacy to contest as an independent after withdrawing from Asansol due to controversy. He now faces a triangular battle against the BJP-led NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha and CPI’s Raja Ram Singh. Another notable candidate is Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who is contesting from Mandi on a BJP ticket, aiming to regain the seat lost to Congress in a by-election. She faces competition from Vikramaditya Singh, son of Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh.
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In Chandigarh, the BJP has replaced two-time MP Kirron Kher with Sanjay Tandon, who will face Congress nominee and former Union minister Manish Tewari. Tewari, backed by the AAP, is seeking to represent Chandigarh, while the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal has actively campaigned for him in the city.
With the final phase of voting approaching, all eyes are on these key constituencies and candidates as India awaits the outcome of this crucial electoral process.
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