New Delhi:
In Madhya Pradesh, it's Mama vs Dada and in West Bengal, a cricketer will make his voting debut and take on a veteran politician. Today's third phase of Lok Sabha elections will cover 95 constituencies across 12 states. The Betul constituency in Madhya Pradesh was initially scheduled for the second phase but was postponed to the third phase due to the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. All 26 constituencies in Gujarat and two in Goa will vote at once. The remaining 14 constituencies in Karnataka, mostly located in north Karnataka, are also scheduled to vote on the same day, ending voting in the state.
Ahead of the vote, here are some of the key battles.
Gandhinagar: Amit Shah vs Sonal Patel
Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat is an important stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Since 1989, the party has consistently brought victory to the party through six terms under BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, and most recently in 2019 when Home Minister Amit Shah won the overall victory by a margin of more than 500,000 votes. He achieved victory. As this year's elections approach, the Home Minister will be facing Congress candidate Sonal Patel as he seeks to maintain the constituency's loyalty to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Main Prix: Dimple Yadav vs Jaiveer Singh vs Shiv Prasad Yadav
Incumbent Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav faces a formidable opponent in Bharatiya Janata Party's Jaiveer Singh. Initially, it was seen as a direct contest, but with the entry of Shiv Prasad Yadav from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a third candidate has emerged. Dimple Yadav, who won Mainpuri in the polls following Mulayam Singh Yadav's death in 2022, secured victory with a surge in sympathy votes. Her current election will be a major litmus test for her. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the contest was limited to the BJP and the SP, with Mulayam Singh Yadav defeating the BJP's Prem Singh Shakya.
Baramati: Supriya Sule vs Sunetra Pawar
In Baramati, Maharashtra, preparations are being made for a showdown between Supriya Sule, representing the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, and her cousin, Ajit Pawar's wife, and NCP candidate Sunetra Pawar. The discord in the Pawar family is attracting attention. Since 2009, Sharad Pawar's daughter and sitting MP Supriya Sule has been consistently winning in this constituency. Baramati has been a stronghold of Sharad Pawar-led NCP dating back to 1967, when he was an MLA. Throughout subsequent Lok Sabha elections, candidates he supported in Baramati achieved victory, including Ajit in 1991. Sharad Pawar himself claimed this. He held the parliamentary seat from 1996 until Supriya succeeded her.
Shivamogga: BY Raghavendra vs Geetha Shivarajkumar vs KS Eshwarappa
In the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, Eshwarappa, Kansas, the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party leader has announced his intention to contest as an independent candidate, competing with sitting MP BY Raghavendra, son of former state chief minister BS Yediyurappa. He has announced his intention to contest against Congress candidate Geetha Shivrajkumar. She is the spouse of Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar and the daughter of another Karnataka Chief Minister Salekoppa Bangarappa.
The assembly area, which consists of eight assembly segments, has been under the tight control of the Yediyurappa family since 2009. In the 2009 general elections, BY Raghavendra secured victory with a margin of over 4.82 billion votes and a vote share of 50.58 per cent. In 2014, he ceded the seat to his father BS Yediyurappa, who won with a commanding lead of over 600,000 votes and a vote share of 53.69 per cent. He returned to Raghavendra in 2019 and won in a landslide with over 7.29 billion votes and 56.86 per cent vote share.
Berhampore: Yusuf Parsan vs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Bahampore in West Bengal has long been a stronghold of the Congress party. Adil Ranjan Chowdhury, the current Member of Parliament, has held this position since 1999. In both the 2019 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Chaudhary had won by a considerable margin over the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates. As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections approach, Berhampore will face a contest between Chaudhary, Bharatiya Janata Party's Nirmal Kumar Saha and TMC's former cricketer Yusuf Pathan. . Chaudhary has represented the Congress faction in Berhampore for three consecutive terms from 2009 to 2019. The Congress veteran also won in all seven assembly segments in the constituency in the 2016 assembly elections.
Vidisha: Shivraj Singh Chouhan vs Bhanu Pratap Sharma
In Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha, it will be a contest between Mama and Dada. Since 1967, the Jana Sangh has mainly won the Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency and then the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the exception of 1980 and 1984 when Congress candidate Pratap Bhanu Sharma secured the seat. I only did it twice. Since 1989, BJP representatives have consistently won the Vidisha seat. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who served for five terms from 1991 to 2004, is returning to the seat after nearly 20 years and is contesting the seat. He will face Mr Sharma, the only Congress winner in the history of this constituency. Mr Chouhan's relationship with voters, affectionately known as 'Mamaji', has only strengthened since his term as the state's chief minister ended.
Guna: Jyotiraditya Scindia vs Congress MP Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav
More than four years after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia will make his debut as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in India's parliament, aiming to reclaim his family's historic stronghold in Guna. It is. Scindia's grandmother, Vijayaraje Scindia, had secured the Guna seat in 1957 under the Congress banner. Later, she aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party; She served five more constituency terms, including one term in 1967 with the Swatantra Party, after which she served four consecutive terms with the BJP from 1989 to 1998. The Congress has fielded Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav and aims to unite the influential Yadav community in the opposition. To Cindia.