As the Lok Sabha elections are almost nearing an end, the fifth phase will witness a star-studded battle on May 6
New Delhi: Fifty-one constituencies, spread over seven states, will go to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 6. The focus will be on Congress as most of its veterans are in the fray and their positions are at stake.
The biggest battle will be Amethi as Congress president Rahul Gandhi will go head to head against BJP leader Smriti Irani.
Amethi, considered a stronghold for the Gandhi family, now is teeming with BJP workers as Irani is working towards making her presence felt. After losing by a small margin in 2014, BJP is looking forward to dislodge Rahul from his family bastion.
Also read: Smriti Irani proves why she is Amethi's friend in need
Congress turncoat and BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh will take on former Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. Singh was chosen over Supreme Court lawyer Ajay Agarwal by the BJP, but Congress seems confident of retaining their power in the constituency.
In Uttar Pradesh, Poonam Sinha has been fielded from SP-BSP against Union home minister Rajnath Singh. Poonam, the wife of Shatrughan Sinha, has been given a ticket from Lucknow after joining the Samajwadi party. Congress’s Lucknow candidate, Acharya Pramod, expressed extreme displeasure after Shatrughan Sinha campaigned for his wife and attended a meeting with Akhilesh Yadav. Shatrughan is the Congress candidate for Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar.
There are five Assembly constituencies in the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat of Jharkhand –Barhi, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Barkagaon, and Mandu. Hazaribagh has made headlines as Union minister Jayant Sinha is in the fray. In 2014, Jayant Sinha won the seat of Hazaribagh by defeating Saurabh Narain Singh of the Congress with a huge margin of 1,58,128 votes.
BJP’s Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union minister of state in the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, and parliamentary affairs will be contesting from the Bikaner seat against former IPS officer and Congress candidate Madan Gopal Meghwal. The two are cousins and Arjun had won the previous two elections from the constituency, which makes it an important phase for him.
Jaipur rural is all set to witness a face-off between two of India’s finest Olympians turned politicians. Former Olympian and BJP’s union minister for state information and broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore, will compete for the seat against former Olympic athlete and current Congress MLA from Sadulpur constituency in Rajasthan, Krishna Poonia.
Also read: Lok Sabha election 2019 pits two of India's finest Olympians against each other
Rahul Gandhi (Congress) – 408651
Smriti Irani (BJP) - 300748
Rajnath Singh (BJP) – 561106
Rita Bahuguna Joshi (Congress) - 288357
Sonia Gandhi (Congress) – 526434
Ajay Agrawal (BJP) - 173721
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (BJP) – 632930
Dr. CP Joshi (Congress) - 300034
Jayant Sinha (BJP) – 406931
Saurabh Narayan Singh (Congress) - 247803
Arjun Ram Meghwal (BJP) - 584932
Shankar Pannu (Congress) - 276853
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