Lok Sabha polls 2024 phase 2: All eyes will be on these high-voltage clashes

Lok Sabha elections phase 2: Several high-profile candidates, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, are in the fray.

After high-decibel campaigning over the last few days, all eyes are now on the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26 which covers 88 constituencies across 13 states and Union Territories.

With this phase, polling will conclude in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura. In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).

In 2019, the NDA had won 56 of the 89 seats that are going to polls in phase 2 while UPA bagged 24. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.

Among the prominent contestants are Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad) and Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Thiruvananthapuram), BJP's Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru South), Hema Malini (Mathura), Arun Govil (Meerut), Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh (Bengaluru Rural), former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy (Mandya).

* Polling in MP's Betul to be held on May 7 (Phase 3) due to death of BSP candidate Ashok Bhalavi.

Battleground seats: Here is a look at the high-stakes clashes in phase 2 of Lok Sabha elections

Wayanad (Kerala): One of the most keenly-watched battles in this phase will of course be the three-way clash in Kerala's Wayanad - being seen as a litmus test for incumbent MP Rahul Gandhi. In 2024, Rahul is facing a stiff challenge from CPI's Annie Raja, who is the wife of party general secretary D Raja, and Kerala BJP president K Surendran. In 2019, Rahul cruised to victory in Wayanad with a massive margin of over 4.3 lakh votes even as he lost his bastion Amethi in UP to BJP's Smriti Irani. The thumping victory assured him another term in the lower house. Five years later, the novelty of Rahul's candidacy has worn off while local issues such as man-animal conflicts and farmer woes dominate the political discourse. With both CPI and BJP fielding prominent local faces, the contest in Wayanad promises to be a closely-fought battle.

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The heavyweight clash featuring Congress leader and incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor and Union IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar is perhaps the biggest attraction of this phase. Though on opposite ends of the political divide, both leaders share a similar reputation of being unconventional and urbane politicians. Moreover, CPI's decision to field veteran leader Pannian Raveendran from the seat has further queered the pitch. Tharoor, a three-time MP, is seeking a fourth term from the constituency and is hoping to tide over the Chandrasekhar challenge. But the Union minister, who is set to contest his first Lok Sabha election, is on a mission to unseat Tharoor and poses a formidable challenge to his 15-year reign. Notably, BJP has been the runner-up here in the last few elections, making Thiruvananthapuram a possible greenshoot constituency for the saffron party which is looking to make inroads in the state.

Meerut (UP): BJP has fielded Arun Govil, who portrayed Lord Ram in the iconic TV series Ramayana, as its candidate from Meerut. BJP's decision to replace three-time MP Rajendra Agarwal with Govil did cause some flutter in the party's rank and file but Govil is betting on his TV image of "Lord Ram" and the popularity of PM Modi to garner votes. What has made the contest interesting is the absence of a Muslim candidate in opposition ranks this year. This is because Muslims comprise 36% of the population and parties like SP and BSP have historically fielded candidates from the community. In 2024, the SP-Congress alliance is banking on a Dalit candidate, Sunita Verma, while BSP has fielded Devvrat Tyagi, who represents the upper caste.

Bengaluru South (Karnataka): The prestigious Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a keen contest between BJP MP and youth wing chief Tejasvi Surya and Sowmya Reddy of the Congress. Sowmya, 41, is the daughter of transport minister Ramalinga Reddy and has a strong political lineage. The Congress leadership has thrown its weight behind Sowmya in a bid to breach the seat, which has traditionally been dominated by BJP. But Surya, 33, is banking on his 5-year report card and the PM Modi factor to retain the mandate yet again.

Mandya (Karnataka): The Karnataka seat will see a high-voltage clash between JD(S) leader and former CM HD Kumaraswamy, who has solid ties to the region, and Congress's Venkataramane Gowda (aka Star Chandru), a civil contractor. The seat was won in 2019 by Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh who has decided not to contest this year after joining BJP. Kumaraswamy's party JD(S), which has allied with BJP in 2024, is facing a battle for survival in this election. The former CM is betting big on support from the Vokkaliga community who make up nearly 50% of the region's population. Meanwhile, Gowda has labelled Kumaraswamy as an "outsider" and is emphasising on his local roots to win over the voters.

Mysore (Karnataka): BJP has fielded Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (YKC), the titular head of the Mysore royal family, has its candidate from the seat. He has replaced two-term sitting MP Pratap Simha. Congress has fielded M Lakshman, an engineer-turned politician who maintains a low-profile. The contest here has been dubbed as a "king vs commoner" fight. For Lakshman, securing the seat for Congress assumes significance since Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah hails from the region.

Mathura (UP): Actor-turned-politician and incumbent MP Hema Malini is seeking re-election from Mathura. Malini, who has often faced questions for her absence in the constituency and even in Lok Sabha, is betting on the Modi factor to retain the seat for a third straight term. Meanwhile, the opposition, led by Congress-SP alliance candidate Mukesh Dhangar, has spearheaded the narrative of 'Brajwasi versus Pravasi,' portraying Malini as detached from local concerns.

Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh): Sitting BJP MP Santosh Pandey will face Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in Rajnandgaon. Though BJP appears to be in an advantageous position in the state, Congress's move to field Baghel can pose a formidable challenge to the saffron party's prospects in the constituency. Baghel originally belongs to Patan but Congress's decision to field him from Rajnandgaon appears to be more strategic, since its a semi-urban seat and the party may rely on agriculture welfare schemes of the erstwhile Baghel government to woo rural voters. However, BJP's Pandey is confident of retaining the seat. Moreover, the party has never faced defeat here since the state's formation in 2000.

Kota (Rajasthan): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is seeking a hat-trick from Kota but faces a tough challenge from Prahlad Gunjal, a Gujjar strongman who was twice elected an MLA from the BJP but joined the Congress in March. Moreover, the contest here is being seen as a grudge match since both leaders are bitter rivals and their differences were well-known in political circles.

Barmer (Rajasthan): Union minister and BJP leader Kailash Choudhary, the sitting MP from Barmer, will square off against Congress candidate Umeda Ram Beniwal. But a 27-year-old fiery Rajput rebel leader Ravindra Singh Bhati, who is contesting as an Independent, has made the battle more interesting. A popular youth leader, Bhati is known for his appeal among Jat and Rajput voters. Though BJP holds advantage in Barmer, Bhati's candidature has turned the contest into a keen triangular clash.

Purnea (Bihar): NDA candidate and JD(U) MP Santosh Kumar is aiming for a hat-trick while the INDIA bloc has thrown its weight behind Bima Bharti, who recently quit Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s party and was promptly rewarded by arch-rival Lalu Prasad with the RJD ticket. But it's not the NDA vs INDIA fight that has caused a buzz in the seat. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who is contesting as an Independent candidate, is hogging the limelight in Purnea. In fact, some opinion polls have predicted that he may turn out to be the dark horse in 2024. Yadav has represented the seat thrice in the 1990s, winning by huge margins. He won twice as an Independent and once on the ticket of SP.

Amravati (Maharashtra): Incumbent Independent MP Navneet Kaur Rana is contesting the seat on a BJP ticket this time. The actor-turned-politician had defeated the Shiv Sena MP to clinch the seat in 2019. In 2024, she will face Congress's Balwant Baswant Wankhade from the seat and independent candidate Anandraj Ambedkar.

NDA vs INDIA

The 2024 general election is witnessing a showdown between the BJP-led NDA - which is seeking a third consecutive term in power - and the opposition bloc 'INDIA', which includes Congress, TMC and SP among other parties.

PM Modi is confident of returning to power yet again and has set eyes on an even bigger mandate of 400 plus seats for NDA this time, including 370 for BJP alone. With momentum on BJP's side and opinion polls widely predicting the party's victory, PM Modi may be on the verge of becoming the third longest-serving Prime Minister of the country after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

On the other hand, opposition parties such as Congress, TMC, AAP, Shiv Sena, SP, and NCP, have joined hands to challenge the Modi juggernaut, warning that a third term for BJP will be detrimental to Indian democracy. However, protracted seat-sharing negotiations, turf wars and regional interests have diluted the larger opposition mission to counter the BJP juggernaut.

After the second phase of polling, elections will conclude in 191 of the 543 seats.

The third phase of polling for 94 seats will be held on May 7. Voting for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases will be held on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 respectively.

The counting of votes will be held on June 4.