Uttar Pradesh gears up for the seventh and the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 scheduled to be held on June 1.
The 13 constituencies in seventh phase are Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC). This phase will be crucial for OBC leaders and NDA allies like Anupriya Patel, Om Prakash Rajbhar, Sanjay Nishad and Dara Singh Chauhan, as well as opposition leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya across the region.
Here are the key seats to watch out for.
Varanasi: A traditional BJP stronghold, the seat has favoured the party since 1996. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third term from this constituency. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi secured a landslide victory in Varanasi by obtaining 63 per cent of the total votes. This time, PM Modi faces state Congress president Ajay Rai and BSP’s Athar Jamal Lari.
Gorakhpur: Two Bhojpuri actors are locking horns in one of the prestigious seats of Purvanchal. Bhojpuri actor and BJP candidate Ravindra Kishan Shukla, popularly known as Ravi Kishan, is fighting to retain the seat for the second time in a row. He faces INDIA bloc candidate Kajal Nishad, also a Bhojpuri actor.
Mirzapur: This seat has a history of not re-electing candidates for a third consecutive term to the Lok Sabha. In the 2019 polls, Anupriya Patel from Apna Dal (S) won form the seat. She is up against SP’s Rajendra S Bind and BSP’s Manish Tripathi.
Ghosi: BSP candidate Atul Rai is the incumbent MP here. However, this time the poll ticket has gone to Balkrishna Chauhan. SP’s Rajeev Kumar Rai from INDIA bloc and NDA candidate Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Arvind Rajbhar are the other key candidates.
Ghazipur: The BJP has placed its bets on Parasnath Rai, considered close to J&K LG Manoj Sinha. Afzal Ansari, brother of gangster Mukhtar Ansari who died recently, is contesting on the SP ticket. In 2019, Afzal Ansari defeated senior BJP leader and incumbent MP Manoj Sinha by over 1.19 lakh votes. r Umesh Kumar Singh is in the fray from the BSP.
In Maharajganj, BJP’s Pankaj Choudhary is up against Virendra Chaudhary of the Congress. Meanwhile, the constituency of Ballia will witness Neeraj Sekhar of the BJP locking horns with Lallan Singh Yadav.
Counting of votes will be held on June 1.
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