Lok Sabha elections Phase 3: Stakes high for BJP as 93 seats go to polls; spotlight on 10 key clashes

(L-R) Jyotiraditya Scindia, Shivraj Chouhan, Pralhad Joshi, Supriya Sule, Dimple Yadav and Amit Shah are among the key candidates in the fray

After days of politically-charged campaigning, the stage is set for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections which will cover 93 seats across 11 states and Union Territories.

With the conclusion of this phase, the general election will reach its halfway stage with voting concluding in over 280 constituencies.

The run up to the third phase saw fierce campaigning with the BJP-led NDA and opposition bloc INDIA targeting each other over issues like reservation and the sexual abuse charges against suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna.

The third phase is particularly important for BJP since it won a majority of the seats going to polls on May 7, including all in Gujarat.

As many as 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray. Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).

Former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) and Digvijaya Singh (Rajgarh) have also returned to the Lok Sabha electoral fray this time. The fate of former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and Badruddin Ajmal (Dhubri) will also be decided on May 7.

Phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections: Watch out for these key contests on May 7

Baramati (Maharashtra): The Maharashtra constituency is bracing for an interesting clash of the Pawars with NCP founder Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule facing her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, who is the wife of Ajit Pawar. The constituency - which has been the stronghold of Sharad Pawar's family for decades - has become a proxy battleground for the uncle-nephew power tussle ever since Ajit Pawar staged a revolt and switched to the BJP-led NDA. Supriya Sule is eyeing a fourth term from Baramati in 2024. In the previous election, she had defeated BJP's Kanchan Rahul Kul by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes. However, her prospects are shadowed by the looming anti-incumbency sentiment and the relentless onslaught from the ruling alliance, particularly the Ajit-led NCP and BJP, who have launched an aggressive campaign targeting her and Sharad Pawar. Notably, both Sharad and Ajit have represented the constituency in Lok Sabha in the past.

Gandhinagar (Gujarat): A BJP bastion since 1989, Gandhinagar has sent party veteran LK Advani to the lower house as many as five times. In 2019, Union home minister Amit Shah contested from the seat for the first time and won by a landslide margin of over 5.5 lakh votes. Shah is contesting again and will face a challenge from Congress's Sonal Patel.

Guna (Madhya Pradesh): Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is looking to reclaim his royal family bastion, which he lost to BJP's Krishna Pal Yadav in 2019 when he was part of Congress. The BJP has strategically fielded Scindia instead of incumbent MP KP Yadav in the constituency, hoping that the Union minister will be able to retain the seat due to his deep-rooted connection with the constituency. Scindia, who was with the Congress till 2020, represented the Guna constituency from 2002 to 2019. Scindia's grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia and father Madhavrao Scindia, too, represented Guna in the Lok Sabha

Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh): The Yadav family "bahu" and incumbent MP Dimple Yadav will face her first litmus test from the SP stronghold, two years after she recorded a landslide victory in the bypolls following the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav. In the 2024 election, Dimple finds herself in a face-off with BJP's Jaiveer Singh, who is the tourism minister in the UP government. BSP's Shiv Prasad Yadav is also in the fray, further queering the pitch. The emphasis on Yadav identity by BSP candidate might pose a challenge to Dimple, who comes from a Rajput background and married Akhilesh Yadav in November 1999.

Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh): Former MP CM Digvijaya Singh, who won the elections from the constituency way back in 1984 and then in 1991, has returned to his home turf after three decades. Digvijaya is the son of Balbhadra Singh, the Raja of Raghogarh (under the Gwalior State). Interestingly, he said that it would be the "last election of his life". And to end his electoral career on a winning note, Digvijaya will have to see off a stiff challenge from BJP's two-time MP Rodmal Nagar. In 2019, Nagar defeated his Congress rival by a commanding margin of over 4.3 lakh votes and is a formidable opponent. But Congress is banking on Digvijaya's deep-rooted connection with Rajgarh to reclaim its erstwhile bastions from BJP.

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh): Like Digvijaya Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan - another former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh - is hoping to make a mark in the 2024 Lok Sabha election after returning to his home turf of Vidisha. Last year, Chouhan had to sacrifice the CM post for Mohan Yadav after BJP won the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections. There was a buzz that he may be given an important national role. In 2024, he is now the BJP candidate from Vidisha, a constituency he has won as many as five times from 1991 to 2004. He will face veteran Congress leader and former Vidisha MP Pratap Bhanu Sharma. The high-profile constituency holds special significance for the BJP, as it was previously represented in the lower house by the late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the late former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj.

Dharwad (Karnataka): Union minister Pralhad Joshi is hoping to win the constituency for a record fifth time in a direct clash with Congress. The prospects of Joshi, who has been the MP from Dharwad since 2004, improved significantly after popular Lingayat seer Dingaleshwar Swamiji of Shirahatti Bhavaikya Peetha withdrew his candidature just weeks before the polling. Joshi has won all four elections with a comfortable margin against the Congress candidates. In the 2019 polls, he secured victory with a margin of just over 2 lakh votes against Vinay Kulkarni of Congress. In 2024, Joshi is facing a challenge from Congress's Vinod Asooti.

Shivamogga (Karnataka): The contest between the children of two former chief ministers and the presence of an expelled BJP leader in the fray has spiced up the poll scene in Karnataka's Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP has renominated MP and Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra. The Congress has named Bangarappa's daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is the wife of Karnataka film star Shivarajkumar and daughter-in-law of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar. While the stage was almost set for a direct clash between Raghavendra and Geetha Shivrajkumar, BJP veteran K S Eshwarappa rebelled against the party over the denial of ticket to his son K E Kantesh from neighbouring Haveri. The former deputy CM has entered the fray as an independent, making it a keen triangular clash.

Dhubri (Assam): AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal is locked in a triangular contest to retain the seat for the fourth consecutive term. However, Ajmal, who has dominated the minority-dominated constituency for years, may face tough competition from Congress nominee and former minister Rakibul Hussain and NDA nominee Zabed Islam of the Asom Gana Parishad. Both contenders allege that the AIUDF supremo has failed to deliver on all fronts and is banking on the anti-incumbency factor to wrest the seat. Issues like floods, erosion, poverty and child marriage have dominated the poll narrative in the run up to the elections.

North Goa (Goa): Union minister Shripad Naik has been representing the North Goa constituency since 1999 (formerly Panaji constituency) and is looking to clinch a record sixth term. In 2019, he defeated Congress's Girish Chodankar by a margin of over 80,000 votes. This time, Congress has nominated veteran politician and former Union law minister Ramakant Khalap from the constituency. Khalap, 76, has a rich political history, having served as an MP on the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) ticket from 1996-1998 and as Union MoS for Law in Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet before joining Congress.