Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections 2024: Key constituencies and candidates in Phase 1

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Polling will kick off in Uttar Pradesh, the most crucial political state which sends 80 members to Lok Sabha, in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. The state will vote in all seven phases.

In the first phase, voting will take place in 8 constituencies, located primarily in western UP. These are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzzafarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Muradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.

Also Read: Lok Sabha elections - Comprehensive schedule including voting dates, phases & constituency-wise details

This region of the state, which has a sizeable Muslim population, has historically been challenging for BJP.

Of the 8 constituencies going to polls on April 19, the BJP secured victory in just three seats in 2019: Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit and Kairana. The Samajwadi Party won Moradabad and Rampur while Bahujan Samaj Party won Saharanpur, Bijnor and Nagina. SP and BSP had contested the previous general election in alliance, which was ended later.

Notably, BJP later wrested the SP stronghold of Rampur in the 2022 bypolls.

Key candidates and constituencies

One of the most interesting contests in the first phase of polling will be in Pilibhit, where BJP has fielded Jitin Prasada, once a close aide of Rahul Gandhi.

The decision caused a fair amount of buzz since Pilibhit was represented by Varun Gandhi, who has been sidelined in the upcoming elections.

The BJP leaders, including PM Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, have campaigned aggressively for Prasada in Pilibhit.

Prasada will be challenged by SP's Bhagwat Saran Gangwar and BSP's Anis Ahmed Khan.

Rampur is another constituency to watch out for since it was once a stronghold of jailed SP leader Azam Khan. His close aide Mohibullah Nadvi, a cleric of a mosque located on Delhi's Parliament Street, is contesting the polls on SP ticket this time.

Muzaffarnagar, known for its intricate caste dynamics, is also witnessing a three-cornered electoral battle, with Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan locked in competition against Samajwadi Party’s Harindra Malik and BSP candidate Dara Singh Prajapati.

The contest in Kariana will also be closely watched where the once-dominant topic of "exodus" seems to have dwindled. Moreover, SP's triumph in Kairana in the 2022 assembly election has prompted a re-evaluation of strategy by BJP.

Saharanpur is also a key battleground constituency, which is known as the ‘serial number one seat’ in UP.

Over the years, Saharanpur has oscillated between the SP, BJP, and BSP. BJP’s Lakhanpal won it in 2014 but in 2019 the BSP candidate Haji Fazlur Rehman won the seat.

In the run up to the polls, Imran Masood, the Congress leader who made controversial remarks against PM Modi, has returned to the grand old party after stints with SP and BSP.