Following the first three rounds of polls, the country is all set to walk into the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 13. The phase will see 96 seats across nine states and UTs go to polls promising a spate of high-voltage clashes and crucial contests among a total of 1,717 candidates in the fray with numerous star campaigners and popular party faces leading the charge from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc. Voting will take place across 17 seats in Telangana, all 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, 5 in Bihar, 4 in Jharkhand, 8 in Madhya Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, 4 in Odisha, 8 in West Bengal and 1 in Jammu and Kashmir
Outlook looks at a few of the major players on the cards for Phase 4 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad, AIMIM): Hyderabad braces up for a high-voltage clash as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President and MP Asaduddin Owaisi looks to win a fifth term from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency which has seen an Owaisi representing in the lower house since 1984, with Asaduddin winning it since 2004. Having upstaged BJP’s Bhagavant Rao in the last two Lok Sabha elections, he will be squaring off against BJP’s Kompella Madhavi Latha.
Mahua Moitra (Krishnagar, TMC): One of TMC’s fiercest electoral faces and voices, Mahua Moitra will be contesting from West Bengal Krishnanagar constituency for the second time, hoping to repeat her 2019 performance which saw her secure 614,872 votes, defeating BJP's Kalyan Chaubey. However, this time, the contest promises to be an interesting one with BJP fielding Amrita Roy, also known as Rani Maa, a descendent of the royal family of Krishnanagar. The seat has been with the TMC since 2009 with the late actor Tapas Paul winning twice before Moitra took over.
Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, SP): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is back in the Lok Sabha electoral fray as he hopes to secure a victory in Kannauj against incumbent MP and BJP leader Subrat Pathak. Akhilesh Yadav had served as the MP from Kannauj between 2000-2012 and had resigned in 2012 after becoming the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav represented the seat from 2012 to 2019, when she was defeated by Subrat Pathak by around 13,000 votes. Yadav will look to win from the SP stronghold, overcoming Pathak and BSP’s Imran Bin Zafar.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury(Baharampur, Congress): Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and the President of the West Bengal Congress Committee, will look to retain the Congress stronghold of Baharampur, which has elected Chowdhury to the lower house since 1999. This time, it hosts an interesting triangular contest among the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Trinamool CongressMoitra (TMC) with TMC fielding former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan and BJP, Nirmal Kumar Saha to challenge the dominance of Chowdhury in the constituency.
Y.S. Sharmila Reddy (Kadapa, Congress): Andhra Pradesh Congress President YS Sharmila, who is also the younger sister of YSRCP President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, will be contesting from the Kadapa seat of Andhra Pradesh against incumbent YSRCP MP Avinash Reddy, her cousin and TDP’s Chadipiralla Bhupesh Subbarami Reddy, and will be looking to revive Congress’ hold in a constituency which was a party stronghold in the state between 1989 and 2012.
SS Ahluwalia (Asansol, BJP): Seasoned parliamentarian Ahluwalia will be BJP’s candidate this time, from the very crucial West Bengal seat of Asansol. Ahluwalia will be looking for a third consecutive victory, having won from Darjeeling and Bardhaman-Durgapur in 2014 and 2019 respectively, against incumbent TMC MP and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha and the CPIM’s Jahanara Khan. The seat has seen multiple shuffles over the past decade, with Shatrughan it in the 2022 by-election when sitting MP Babul Supriyo quit the BJP to join TMC.
Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, BJP): Giriraj Singh, incumbent MP and a cabinet minister with a portfolio of the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department will be contesting against CPI candidate Awadhesh Rai in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Giriraj Singh overcame Kanhaiya Kumar of the CPI receiving 692,193 votes against Kanhaiya Kumar 269,976 votes.
