In this phase over 10.17 crore voters would be covered across 1.13 lakh polling booths. This is perhaps the phase which will see the maximum number of ex-chief ministers fighting it out in the political fray.
People across 59 Lok Sabha seats in seven states, including Delhi, are voting in the sixth and the penultimate phase of the 2019 general elections.
In this phase over 10.17 crore voters would be covered across 1.13 lakh polling booths. This is perhaps the phase which will see the maximum number of ex-chief ministers fighting it out in the political fray.
1. Akhilesh Yadav
The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is contesting from his father’s seat of Azamgarh that has a pretty favourable equation in his favour, at least, on the face of it. Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) was drubbed in the last 2014 elections as well as the 2017 state assembly elections, both times at the hands of the BJP.
To save his political career he teamed up with arch-rival Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and stitched up the anti-BJP ‘mahagathbandhan’.
Yadav senior had won the seat by a margin of 60,000 votes in 2014.
He is being challenged by Bhojpuri sensation Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’. Incidentally, this Bhojpuri star was awarded the ‘Yash Bharti’ award by Akhilesh himself.
2. Sheila Dikshit
Delhi’s former chief minister and perhaps the best-known politician across the national Capital is making a comeback in 2019 after being side-lined for some time by the Congress. Identified with Delhi’s large network of flyovers, she saw the Commonwealth Games scam during her regime.
Her glory and legacy are being challenged by BJP’s Manoj Tiwari in the North East Delhi seat. The contest is made interesting owing to several factors, including the facts that the seat has the maximum number of migrants from UP and Bihar and the highest concentration of Purvanchalis and Muslims.
3. Digvijaya Singh
The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh’s run up to the contest from the Bhopal seat was full of gaffes and internal bickering within the Congress. Some say he was not ready to contest from Bhopal at all. Coming from a royal family, ‘Diggy’ represents a powerful faction in the state, which is often considered against the current chief minister Kamal Nath.
Singh has remained controversial for his statements, including his “saffron terror” remarks. He is being challenged by Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the accused of “saffron terror” by the Congress. Accused in the Malegaon blasts, she was exonerated under MCOCA though still is out on bail on charges under UAPA.
4. Bhupinder Singh Hooda
The former chief minister of Haryana is contesting on Congress ticket from Sonepat in Haryana. His regime in Haryana was tarnished by a litany of allegations of land fraud and scam. Most notable was the alleged land scam involving Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law and Priyanka Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra. He is sitting MLA from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak. He is competing against BJP’s sitting MP Ramesh Chandra Kaushik. The former CM is known as a strong Jat leader in the state.
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