New Delhi:
The sixth and penultimate part of polling for the 2024 Lok Sabha election begins this morning with voting in 58 seats throughout six states and two union territories, together with Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag, which was to vote within the third part however will achieve this at the moment after antagonistic climate circumstances on Might 7.
The seat has flipped between Farooq and Omar Abdullah’s Nationwide Convention and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP over the past 5 elections.
The main focus, although, shall be on the nationwide capital, the place the BJP faces an INDIA bloc problem – the AAP and Congress have united to cease the previous from claiming a hat-trick of fresh sweeps. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s get together gained all seven in 2014 and 2019.
BJP Vs Congress + AAP In Delhi
The AAP contests 4 seats – New Delhi, East Delhi, South Delhi, and West Delhi. The Congress has fielded candidates in three – Chandni Chowk, North-East, and North-West.
In a curious twist the AAP has dominated Meeting elections in Delhi since 2013, however the BJP has been the highest canine in Lok Sabha polls. In 2019, for instance, the BJP had a vote share of almost 57 per cent and the AAP simply 18 per cent. A yr later, within the 2020 state election, the AAP thumped its rival by successful 62 of 70 seats and a vote share of almost 54 per cent.
Whereas successful (or dropping) one or all of seven seats is unlikely to make or break the election for both the ruling BJP or opposition events, claiming Delhi is a status problem.
Among the many massive names contesting in Delhi this time is the BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj, who’s the late former International Minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter. She is contesting the New Delhi seat towards the AAP’s Somnath Bharti. This seat was claimed by the BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi in 2014 and 2019, and the Congress’ Ajay Maken for the 2 prior elections.
In North-East Delhi, in the meantime, the BJP’s Manoj Tiwari is in search of a hat-trick of wins of his personal, however should overcome the not insignificant problem of Kanhaiya Kumar, the Congress’ fiery youth chief from town’s Jawaharlal Nehru College.
Eight Seats In Bengal, Bihar
Elsewhere within the nation, there are eight seats voting in Bengal, together with Tamluk and Kanthi. These are within the household stronghold of Suvendhu Adhikari, who was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s right-hand man until he stop – amid large controversy – to hitch the BJP.
Since then, Mr Adhikari and Ms Banerjee have develop into implacable rivals, even going head-to-head for the Nandigram Meeting constituency within the 2021 state election that the Trinamool dominated. Nonetheless, in an announcement outcome from the seat that catapulted Ms Banerjee to energy he defeated her, forcing her right into a by-poll to stay Chief Minister.
Tamluk can be vital as a result of the BJP has fielded former Calcutta Excessive Court docket decide Abhijit Ganguly from right here, who has misplaced no time in needling the Trinamool boss. He faces the ruling get together’s youth wing chief – Debangshu Bhattacharya. In the meantime, in Kanthi the BJP’s Soumendu Adhikari – Mr Adhikari’s brother – faces the Trinamool’s Uttam Barik.
The BJP gained 5 of those seats final time. The Trinamool obtained three.
Eight seats in Bihar are additionally voting on this part. Bihar was dominated by the BJP and the party-led NDA within the final election. That alliance gained 39 of the state’s 40 seats. Of the seats voting at the moment, final time the BJP obtained 4 and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU obtained three.
The eighth was gained by the Lok Janshakti Occasion.
All three are allied once more now after a headline-grabbing U-turn by Nitish Kumar – who helped discovered the INDIA bloc – and the LJP of Chirag Paswan eased to the BJP’s facet.
14 Seats Voting In BJP Stronghold Of UP
Uttar Pradesh, which like Bengal will vote in each part of this election, sends 14 seats to the polling cubicles on this spherical. UP is a politically key state because it has 80 Lok Sabha seats.
The BJP has dominated electoral politics right here because the 2017 Meeting election and claimed 62 seats within the 2019 Lok Sabha ballot (64 together with two gained by ally Apna Dal (S)), and can need one other massive win to assist hit its goal of ‘abki baar, 400 paar’.
In 2019 the BJP secured 9 of those 14 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Occasion – not an INDIA member – obtained 4. The Samajwadi Occasion, which is a part of bloc, picked up the odd seat.
All 14 seats are in western UP and embrace the temple city of Prayagraj and jailed SP chief Aam Khan’s Azamgarh bastion that’s now with the BJP. It was held by SP patriarch Mulayam Yadav in 2014 and his son Akhilesh Yadav in 2019. Nonetheless, within the 2022 by-poll – triggered after Akhilesh Yadav stop to retain an Meeting seat – it was picked up by the BJP.
Seats polling in UP at the moment additionally contains Phulpur, the place a Akhilesh Yadav-Rahul Gandhi rally noticed chaos as a result of the SP and Congress’ supporters have been overeager to see their leaders.
Odisha’s Six
Six seats are voting, and the large battles are for capital Bhubaneshwar, Sambalpur and Puri.
In Sambalpur the BJD’s Pranab Prakash Das faces off towards a BJP heavyweight – Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who can be being seen as a possible chief ministerial candidate within the Meeting election that’s taking place concurrently. That is Mr Pradhan’s first Lok Sabha election since 2009. The seat was gained by the BJP’s Nitesh Deb in 2019.
Over in Puri, the BJP’s fiery spokesperson, Sambit Patra is hoping to do what he couldn’t final yr. In 2019 Mr Patra misplaced this seat to the BJD’s Pinaki Mishra by a one per cent margin.
The state capital sees a three-way battle – Aparajita Sarangi of the BJP (and the incumbent) vs the BJD’s Manmath Routray vs the Congress’ Yasir Nawaz.
Haryana Votes Absolutely
Haryana’s 10 seats will all vote at the moment. The mathematics is easy for the BJP – win all of them.
The saffron get together claimed all 10 seats within the 2019 election and can anticipate nothing much less this time, notably because the state is a part of its Hindi heartland stronghold.
The record of massive names right here begins with former Chief Minister ML Khattar, who’s contesting the Karnal seat towards Divyanshu Budhiraja from of the Congress.
For Kurukshetra the BJP has fielded Naveen Jindal towards the AAP’s Sushil Gupta; a 3rd candidate within the type of the INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala provides a contact of the unknown. There may be some Bollywood glamour in Gurgaon, the place the Congress has fielded former actor Raj Babbar.
Haryana is one other state the place the INDIA bloc is current, with the Congress and AAP sharing seats.
Trying To seventh Section
The seventh and remaining part of the election is on June 1.
The (very) massive focus then shall be on Varanasi in UP, which is the place Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting.
The outcomes for the election shall be out on June 4.