Lok Sabha polls | Interesting battles to watch out for in Phase 4

With majority of the 543 Lok Sabha seats having cast their vote in the first three phases, the general election campaign is now gathering steam in constituencies heading for polls in the fourth phase.

Voting will happen in parts of Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in Phase 4 on April 29.

Lok Sabha polls: Check out the full election schedule here

Here’s a look at some of the key battles in the fourth phase:

Begusarai, Bihar

This seat in central Bihar is set to witness a tough battle between Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and BJP’s firebrand leader Giriraj Singh.

Also read | Kanhaiya Kumar: Village boy, brilliant student, charged with sedition and now contesting Lok Sabha polls

Giriraj Singh had earlier shown reluctance to fight from this seat and wanted to contest from Nawada, from where he had won in 2014.

Begusarai is known as the ‘Leningrad of India’ because the Left Front is a major political force there.

WATCH: Attention of people diverted, no one talks of mob violence, student murders, says Begusarai contestant Kanhaiya Kumar

Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh

This is Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s bastion. In fact, in 2014, when BJP swept the Hindi heartland, Chhindwara was one of the two seats in MP that the saffron party failed to win.

Except for a brief representation by BJP’s Sundar Lal Patwa between 1997 and 1998, this constituency has been held by the Nath family since 1980.

Congress has fielded his son Nakul this time.

Mumbai South, Maharashtra

Former Union minister and Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora is taking on Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant. Milind had held this seat from 2004 to 2014. The constituency was earlier represented by Milind’s father Murli Deora.

In 2014, Sawant had defeated Milind by over 1.2 lakh votes.

Also read | No guarantee that Shiv Sena's alliance with NDA will last: Milind Deora

Unnao in Uttar Pradesh

This seat in Uttar Pradesh is bracing for a three-way contest. BJP has fielded sitting MP Sakshi Maharaj while Congress has fielded former MP Annu Tandon. At the same time, the SP-BSP ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is hoping to capitalise on a potentially consolidated vote share there.

Asansol, West Bengal

Union Minister and BJP’s singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo is the sitting MP there. He has been re-nominated by the party. As BJP is expected to make losses in the Hindi belt, it is hoping to offset some of those losses in West Bengal. Asansol is seen as BJP’s launch pad in the state this time as it was one of the only two constituencies it had managed to win in 2014.

To counter this, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has fielded actress-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen. Sen has been called a ‘giant slayer’ after she defeated nine-time MP Basudeb Acharia in the Left bastion of Bankura in 2014.

Palghar, Maharashtra

This constituency was created after in 2008 following the delimitation exercise and has been dominated by the Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi (BVA) and the BJP.

In 2014, the incumbent MP Baliram Jadhav lost to BJP’s Chintaman Vanaga by over 2 lakh votes. In the 2018 by-elections after Vanaga’s death, the BJP fielded former Congress state minister much to the angst of its partner Shiv Sena. The Sena wanted to field Vanaga’s son instead. Gavit emerged victorious, albeit a reduced margin of under 30,000 votes.

Now, the Sena has fielded Gavit on their ticket while the BVA is being supported by the Congress-NCP alliance.

Kendrapara, Odisha

This seat has been held by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) since 1998 and has been represented by Baijayant Panda since 2009. Panda is now contesting on a BJP ticket.

He was considered to be a close associate of BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and had won in 2014 with a margin of over 2 lakh votes. This has led the BJP, which finished a distant third in 2014, to believe that it could wrest it from the Naveen Patnaik-led party.

Barmer, Rajasthan

The BJP has fielded Kailash Choudhary, replacing Colonel (retd) Sona Ram Choudhary.

In 2014, the BJP had fielded Sona Ram Choudhary, a former Congress leader, denying ticket to party veteran Jaswant Singh. Jaswant had unsuccessfully fought as an Independent candidate.

Kailash Choudhary is believed to be facing a stiff challenge from Jaswant’s son, Manvendra Singh who is contesting on a Congress ticket. Manvendra had himself held the seat for the BJP between 2004 and 2009.

In the state election held there in December 2018, the Congress had won seven out of the eight Assembly segments in the constituency. The Congress is hoping to clinch this seat banking on Manvendra’s popularity there.

Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir

This is the only seat in the country that is voting in three phases. A section of this constituency has already voted in the third phase. However, the voter turnout there was under 15 percent.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is contesting from this seat, which she had won in 2014. She had also held it between 2004 and 2009.

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