Campaigning for 102 parliamentary constituencies spread across 21 states and Union territories, where polling would be held in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, has ended .
In the first phase, polling will be held in Arunachal Pradesh (2 seats), Assam (5), Bihar (4), Chhattisgarh (1), Madhya Pradesh (6), Maharashtra (5), Manipur (2),Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Rajasthan (12), Sikkim (1), Tamil Nadu (39), Tripura (1), Uttar Pradesh (8), Uttarakhand (5), West Bengal (3), Andaman and Nicobar (1), Jammu and Kashmir (1), Lakshadweep (1) and Puducherry (1).
Uttar Pradesh
Electioneering for the first phase of polling on April 19 in Uttar Pradesh ended Wednesday evening with the candidates wrapping up their campaigns for eight parliamentary seats.
On the last day of the campaign, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav — both partners in opposition’s INDIA bloc — addressed rallies in Saharanpur and Moradabad.
The seats going to polls in the first phase on Friday are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit in the western region of the state.
Prominent candidates in this phase are Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar, and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina.
Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister M K Stalin ‘s DMK is in pole position but this time stiff challenge might come from BJP courtesy several road shows by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AIADMK . All 39 seats of Lok Sabha will vote on April 19.
Uttarakhand
Campaigning drew to a close in Uttarakhand at 5 pm this evening, Chief Electoral Officer B V R C Purushottam said at a press briefing.
Having won all the five seats in Uttarakhand in both 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP is seeking to retain them for a third term.
Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is contesting in place of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in Haridwar and Anil Baluni in place of Tirath Singh Rawat in Pauri Garhwal.
Madhya Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP’s campaign, built around the development plank, in Madhya Pradesh for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections that ended on Wednesday, with the Congress promising financial dole to women, caste census and the “right” price to farmers for their produce.
With the first phase scheduled for April 19, the fate of 88 candidates contesting in six seats in the state, including Congress’ Chhindwara MP Nakul Nath and Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, nominated from Mandla (ST), will now be sealed by voters.
Maharashtra
Campaigning for Lok Sabha elections came to an end in five constituencies of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Polling will be held in the constituencies of Nagpur, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in the first phase on April 19.
In Nagpur, a direct fight is on cards between Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress’ Vikas Thakre.
In 2019, Gadkari had defeated Congress’ Nana Patole by 2,16,000 votes. The constituency, which also houses the headquarters of the RSS, has a total of 22,18,259 voters including 11,10, 840 male voters, 11,07,197 female and 222 transgender ones. Jammu and Kashmir
The high-voltage electioneering came to an end on Wednesday evening in Udhampur parliamentary constituency in Jammu and Kashmir which is witnessing its first major electoral battle since it was bifurcated and downgraded to the status of a Union Territory in 2019.
The polling is slated in Udhampur Lok Sabha seat in the first phase on April 19 and will decide the fate of 12 contestants, including Union Minister Jitendra Singh who is seeking a third term and is facing a major challenge from Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh.
The presence of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) candidate and former Jammu and Kashmir minister G M Saroori makes the contest a triangular one.
West Bengal
Campaigning for three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal – Cooch Behar (SC), Jalpaiguri (SC) and Alipurduars (ST) – going to polls in the first phase on April 19 came to an end at 6 PM on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held public rallies in support of their respective party candidates.
Altogether 14 candidates, including sitting MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik, are contesting the parliamentary elections from Cooch Behar.
The TMC has fielded Jagadish Chandra Burma Basunia from the seat, while the Forward Bloc nominated Nitish Chandra Roy and the Congress named Pia Roy Chowdhury.
Chhattisgarh
Acrimonious exchanges between main rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over issues like corruption, poverty and pre-poll promises made by them dominated the high-decibel campaign for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh covering the Bastar seat that ended on Wednesday evening.
