Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Voting for third phase begins in 117 seats; Key candidates, facts & figures and more

Lok Sabha elections 2019: Among the key contestants in the fray are BJP chief Amit Shah (Gandhinagar, Gujarat), Congress president Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad, Kerala), and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri, UP).

Representational Picture (AFP)

Lok Sabha elections 2019: People in 15 states will vote on Tuesday in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday which will see 117 seats going to the polls. Among the key contestants in the fray are BJP chief Amit Shah (Gandhinagar, Gujarat), Congress president Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad, Kerala), and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri, UP).

Date of voting for third phase – April 23, 2019

• Number of seats going for polls – 117 seats (Maximum number of seats compared to all other phases) • 36 percent of Lok Sabha constituency going for polls in the third phase • Number of states/UTs going for polls in third phase – 15 (Also, part of Anantnag seat of Kashmir will also go for polls) • Voters’ turnout in the third phase – 68.43 percent • Number of female candidates – 144 (9 percent of total candidates)

Winner in 2014 - 116 seats in the second phase

• BJP – 62 seats
• Congress – 16 seats
• CPM – 7 seats
• BJD – 6 seats
• NCP – 4 seats
• Shiv Sena – 3 seats
• SP – 3 seats
• Independent – 3 seats
• IUML – 2 seats
• AIUDF – 2 seats
• RJD – 2 seats
• CPI – 1 seat
• Kerala Congress (Mani) – 1 seat
• LJP – 1 seat
• RSP – 1 seat
• SWP – 1 seat
• Trinamool – 1 seat

NDA – 67, UPA – 26 seats, others – 23 seats

Analysis of the third phase

All parliamentary constituencies in Gujarat, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa and Daman and Diu will vote on 23 April in a single phase. In phase III, BJP has never won 45 seats (39 percent) out of 116 seats since its formation in 1980 BJP has never opened its account in Kerala so far. All the twenty seats of Kerala are going for polls in the third phase Focus state (Gujarat) – For BJP, the state is important. PM Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah (first time contesting Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar) come from the state. In 2014, BJP swept the state by winning all 26 seats BJP stronghold seats in Gujarat – BJP hasn’t lost six seats (Surat, Bharuch, Panchmahal, Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West and Gandhinagar) since 1989 Focus state for Congress (Kerala) - Congress president and Prime Ministerial candidate to contest from Wayanad. Congress has not lost the seat since it came to existence in 2008. There is Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple in Wayanad and called as the 'Kashi' of the South. Uttar Pradesh - Polling in UP enters ‘Yadav belt’ on April 23. Third phase looks challenging given the caste equations; SP to contest 9 out of the 10 seats. Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency – The seat is with Samajwadi Party since 1996. BJP has never won Mainpuri seat of Uttar Pradesh. The last time Congress won the seat in 1984 elections Stronghold seats of CPM – CPM hasn’t lost Kasargod (since 1989), Attingal (since 1991), Tripura East (since 1996), Palakkad (since 1996) seats. MPs Replaced - Out of 62 seats won in 2014, BJP hasn’t given tickets to 24 sitting MPs. Out of 62 seats won in 2014, BJP won 17 seats, where voting was more than 70 percent Red Alert Constituencies - 63 out of 116 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those constituencies where 3 or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Uttar Pradesh Elections enter the ‘Yadav belt’ in phase-3 with the party fighting nine out of the 10 seats polling next on April 23, including its strongholds Badaun, Sambhal and Mainpuri. The third phase looks formidable for the SP-BSP and RLD alliance given the caste equations and the BJP may face an uphill task on many seats. In Mainpuri, Mulayam and Mayawati together campaigned and shared the dias for the first time in 24 years Badaun is a strong SP seat with fourlakh Muslim and nine lakh OBC votes. The fight in fact seems directly between SP’s Dharmendra Yadav and five-time former MP Saleem Iqbal Shervani of the Congress. Shivpal Yadav, brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting from Firozabad. SP candidate Akshay Yadav is making life tough for Shivpal on this seat and the alliance is keen to retain this seat. Bihar This time, both the alliances have got new partners and parties have sacrificed some seats for their partners. In NDA, JDU is contesting three seats while BJP and LJP are contesting one seat each. In UPA, RJD is contesting three seats while Congress and Mukesh Sahni’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) are contesting one seat each. BJP has given up sitting Jhanjharpur to JDU while RJD gave Khagariya to VIP. An influential leader of Nishad community, Sahni, also known as ‘son of Mallah’ (boatman), himself is contesting from Khagariya. Khagariya has a sizeable Nishad votes and Sahni’s hope lies on getting these votes along with core voter base of RJD. In Madhepura, it’s a triangular battle with sitting MP Pappu Yadav, who has quit RJD, contesting for his own Jan Adhikar Party. RJD has fielded Sharad Yadav and JDU Dinesh Chandra Yadav, making it a closely watched contest. Pappu Yadav’s wife and sitting Congress MP Ranjeeta Ranjan is contesting from Supaul where she is taking on Dileshwar Kamat of JDU whom she had defeated in 2014. Gujarat All the 26 constituencies of Gujarat will go for polling during the 3rd phase of elections on April 23. Gujarat has emerged as one of the most strategic strongholds of the BJP in India. It is a direct face-off between BJP and Congress Gandhinagar constituency is famed for sending BJP heavyweights such as AB Vajpayee and LK Advani to Delhi for the last three decades. Now, it is gearing up to vote for the present party president Amit Shah Kerala All 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala will go to the polls on 23 April, in third of the seven-phase elections. Kerala is one of the only three states in India where communist parties have prospered. The Left democratic front (LDF) rules the state BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat. The saffron party has now aligned with Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) to fight the Lok Sabha polls. Assam It is crucial for the BJP as its allies -- Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) -- will test their electoral luck on April 23. AGP is contesting from the minority-dominated Barpeta and Dhubri seats while BPF is contesting from Kokrajhar. Dhubri and Barpeta is AIUDF’s stronghold Prominent faces in the third phase Kerala Wayanad -          Congress – Rahul Gandhi -          CPI – PP Suneer -          Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) - Thushar Vellappally Thiruvananthapuram          -          Congress – Shashi Tharoor -          BJP - Kummanam Rajasekharan -          CPI - C Divakaran Ernakulam    -          BJP - Alphons Kannanthanam -          Congress - Hibi Eden -          CPM - P Rajeev Gujarat Gndhinagar -          BJP - Amit Shah -          Congress - C J Chavda Karnataka Gulbarga       -          Congress – Mallikarjun Kharge -          BJP - Umesh Jadhav Uttara Kannada       -          BJP - Anant Kumar Hegde -          JDS - Anand Asnotikar Davanagere   -          BJP - G M Siddeshwara -          Congress - H B Manjappa Shimoga        -          BJP - B Y Raghavendra -          JDS - Mandhu Bangarappa Uttar Pradesh (All seats in the third phase) Mainpuri       -          SP - Mulayam Singh Yadav -          BJP - Prem Singh Shakya Pilibhit -          BJP – Varun Gandhi -          SP – Hemraj Varma Bareilly          -          BJP - Santosh Gangwar -          SP - Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar -          Congress - Praveen Singh Aron Rampur         -          SP – Azam Khan -          BJP – Jaya Prada -          Congress - Sanjay Kapoor Firozabad      -          SP - Akshay Yadav -          BJP - Chandra Sen Jadun Badaun          -          SP - Dharmendra Yadav -          Congress - Saleem Iqbal Shervani -          BJP - Sanghmitra Maurya Moradabad   -          BJP - Kunwar Sarvesh Singh -          Congress - Imran Pratapgarhi -          SP - S T Hasan Sambhal        -          BJP - Parmeshwar Lal Saini -          SP - Shafiqur Rahman Barq -          Congress - Jagat Pal Singh Etah   -          BJP - Rajveer Singh -          SP - Devendra Singh Yadav -          JAP (In alliance with Congress) - Suraj Singh Shakya Aonla -          BJP - Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap -          Congress - Kunwar Sarvaraj Singh -          BSP - Ruchi Vira Bihar (All seats in third phase) Madhepura -          JAP – Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav -          JDU – Sharad Yadav -          JDU – Dinesh Chandra Yadav Supaul -          Congress – Ranjeet Ranjan -          JDU - Dileshwar Kamat Araria -          BJP - Pradeep Singh -          RJD - Sarfaraz Alam Khagaria       -          LJP - Chaudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser -          VIP (alliance with RJD) - Mukesh Sahni   Jhanjharpur -          JDU - Ram Preet Mandal -          RJD - Gulab Yadav   Maharashtra Raigad           -          Shiv Sena - Anant Geete -          NCP - Sunil Tatkare Baramati       -          NCP - Supriya Sule -          BJP - Kanchan Rahul Kul Hatkanangle -          Shiv Sena - Dharyasheel Mane -          SWP (alliance with Congress) - Raju Shetty Odisha Puri -          BJD – Pinaki Mishra -          BJP - Sambit Patra -          Congress - Satya Prakash Nayak Cuttack         -          BJD - Bhartruhari Mahtab -          BJP - Prakash Mishra -          Congress - Panchanan Kanungo Bhubaneswar           -          BJP - Aparajita Sarangi -          BJD - Arup Mohan Patnaik   West Bengal Maldaha Uttar          -          Trinamool – Mausham Noor -          Congress - Isha Khan Chowdhury -          BJP - Khagen Murmu Jangipur        -          Congress - Abhijit Mukherjee -          Trinamool - Khalilur Rehman -          BJP - Mafuja Khatun   Murshidabad -          BJP - Humayun Kabir -          Congress - Abu Hena -          Trinamool - Abu Tahir Khan -          CPM - Badruddoza Khan Assam Dhubri           -          AIUDF - Maulana Badruddin Ajmal -          AGP - Zabed Islam -          Congress - Abu Taher Ali Bepari Goa North Goa     -          BJP - Shripad Yesso Naik -          Congress - Girish Chodankar South Goa     -          Congress - Francisco Sardinha -          BJP - Narendra Keshav Sawaikar ……………………………………………. Criminal Background -          Candidates with Criminal Cases - 341 (21%) out of 1594 candidates -          Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases – 230 (14%) out of 1594 candidates -          Candidates with Declared Convicted Cases - 14 candidates -          Candidates with cases related to Murder: 13 candidates -          Candidates with cases related to Attempt to Murder - 30 candidates -          Candidates with cases related to Kidnapping - 14 candidates -          Candidates with cases related to Crime against Women - 29 candidates -          Candidates with cases related to Hate Speech - 26 candidates Crorepati candidates -          Crorepati Candidates - 396 (25%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more -          Zero Assets Candidates - There are 11 candidates who have declared zero assets. -          Undeclared PAN - 183 (12%) candidates have not given PAN details. Education details of candidates

• Illiterate - 23 candidates are illiterate
• Just Literate - 57 candidates
• 5th pass candidates – 74 candidates
• 8th pass candidates – 172 candidates
• 10th pass candidates – 297 candidates
• 12th pass candidates – 245 candidates
•  Graduate – 279 candidates
• Graduate and Professional – 164 candidates
• Post Graduate – 213 candidates
• Doctorate – 25 candidates
• Others –42 candidates
• Not given – 3 candidates

  Age details of candidates

• Age to be between 25 to 30 years - 137 candidates
• Age to be between 31 to 40 years - 425 candidates
• Age to be between 41 to 50 years – 431 candidates
• Age to be between 51 to 60 years – 329 candidates
• Age to be between 61 to 70 years – 225 candidates
• Age to be between 71 to 80 years – 40 candidates
• Age to be between 81 to 100 years - 3 candidates
• Candidates have not given their age – 4 candidates

Seat Profile Gandhinagar BJP hasn’t lost the seat since 1989 The Gandhinagar seat comprises seven Assembly segments of which the BJP won five and the Congress two in 2017.

• In 2014, LK Advani (6 time MP from Gandhinagar) had won the seat by 483,121 votes (4.83 lakh)
• Last time, Congress won Gandhinagar seat in 1984 elections

Population Total Population in Gandhinagar – 13.92 lakh Hindus – 94.8 percent, Muslims – 4.1 percent, Jains – 0.5 percent Caste wise - SCs – 7.80 percent, STs – 1.31 percent 43.65 percent of the total working population of the district was engaged in agriculture There are approximately 8,000 small scale industries (SSIs) in Gandhinagar providing employment to over 36,000 persons. About Gandhinagar Gandhinagar is named after Mahatma Gandhi, ‘THE FATHER OF NATION’. The capital of the State was shifted from Ahmadabad to Gandhinagar in 1970. Area - 2140.00 sq. km Rural vs. Urban population - Out of the total population of the district about 57 per cent lives in rural areas, while 43 per cent lives in urban areas. Literacy – 87.53 percent (Males – 93.13 percent, Females – 81.39 percent) – More than India’s average …………………………… Wayanad (Kerala) Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple in Wayanad Thirunelli is called as the 'Kashi' of the South. 1991 - Ashes of former prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was immersed in the holy waters of Papanasini river at Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple in Wayanad 2014 - Narendra Modi contests the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi, the Kashi 2019 - Rahul Gandhi contests from the ‘Kashi of the South’ Wayanad is the only district in Kerala that shares its borders with three states, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the political moves here are crucial for all three states Wayanad houses the only Lava Kusha temple and the only mirror temple worshipped by Jain community in Kerala. Total voter population - 13,25,788 (13.25 lakh) Wayanad - coffee, tea, cocoa, pepper, tea and Cardamom are the chief agricultural crops Wayanad became district – November 1, 1980 It was carved out from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts The name Wayanad is derived from “Vayal Nadu” which means the land of paddy fields Wayanad district is perhaps one of the biggest foreign exchange earners of the State, with its production of cash crops like pepper, cardamom, coffee, tea, spices and other condiments. Wayanad consists of seven assembly segments Wayanad – winner

• 2014 - M I Shanavas of Congress won by 20,870 votes (He died in 2018)
• 2009 - M I Shanavas of Congress won (1.5 lakh votes)

The parliamentary constituency came into existence after the delimitation in 2008 Population of the district – 817420 (8.17 lakh) Literacy rate of Wayanad – 89.03 percent Area – 2,131 sq km …………………………….. Dhubri – Assam Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency had been a strong fortress of the Congress, barring only a few occasions when Prajatantra Socialist Party (PSP) It always favoured the Congress till 2004. A new era of politics was started in 2006 with the emergence of the AIUDF with Badruddin Ajmal as its chief in 2006. He has won the seat twice - 2009 and 2014 All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) founder Badruddin Ajmal won the seat in 2014 defeating his Congress rival Wazed Ali Choudhury by over two lakh votes. A perfume baron, the 68-year-old Ajmal is also the Assam President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Muslim population – 62.62 percent SC – 4.17 percent, ST – 0.78 percent 89.1% is rural and 10.9% is urban population. 10 assembly constituencies in Dhubri Lok Sabha The Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency is situated in the Dhubri district on the banks of the Brahmaputra and the Gadadhar rivers. The district of Dhubri is economically dependent on rich agricultural production, paddy being the staple crop The total area of the district - 2176.00 Sq. Kms Total Population – 1949258 (19.49 lakh) ……………………………. Puri BJP hasn’t won Puri seat since the party came into existence in 1980 Coastal district of Odisha Puri is blessed with the famous shrine of the world "the Jagannath Temple" Puri is the holy city of Lord Jagannath. Poll battle between spokespersons of three parties--BJP, Congress and the BJD. Congress fielded its Odisha unit media cell chairman Satyaprakash Nayak against spokespersons of the BJP and the BJD. Puri has traditionally been a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) stronghold, with the party winning the seat in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In the 2014 general elections, BJD's star candidate Pinaki Mishra polled more than 5 lakh votes and defeated his nearest Congress rival Sucharita Mohanty by more than 3 lakh votes or a 25 per cent vote margin. BJP's Ashok Sahu came third with 2.15 lakh votes. Pinaki Mishra is the BJD candidate this time too. SC – 16.47 percent, ST – 1.10 percent Total Population – 1698730 (16.98 lakh) Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh) In Mainpuri, Mulayam and Mayawati together campaigned and shared the dias for the first time in 24 years The seat is with Samajwadi Party since 1996. BJP has never won Mainpuri seat of Uttar Pradesh. The last time Congress won the seat in 1984 elections Literacy – 76 percent Population - 18,68,529 (18.68 lakh) SC – 21.48 percent, ST – 0.01 percent SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has won this seat four times in 1996, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In the 2014 bypoll, Tej Pratap Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party won the seat. The constituency has sent 13 Yadavs to the Parliament since 1952. The Yadavs are the most dominant caste in this constituency. According to reports, 35 percent of the voters are Yadavs. The second most dominant caste in the constituency is that of the Rajputs, who constitute 20 percent of the electorate. ………………………….. Pilibhit Population – 20,31,007 (20.31 lakh) SC – 17.15 percent, ST – 0.05 percent Other population - Muslim (3.5 lakh), Kurmi (3.5 lakh) and the Lodh-Rajput (2 lakh) Literacy – 61.5 percent Pilibhit is a stronghold of Maneka Gandhi, who has been winning this seat continuously between 1989 and 2014, except for losing once in 1991 elections. In 2009, she vacated the seat for his son Varun Gandhi, who went on to represent the constituency till 2014. ……………………… Jangipur Lok Sabha (West Bengal) The constituency comes in Murshidabad constituency The constituency has been a Congress bastion over the past 15 years, electing its then veteran leader Pranab Mukherjee in 2004 and 2009. Abhijit Mukherjee made his Lok Sabha debut in 2012 by winning a by-election to the Jangipur seat after his father resigned from the house to contest in the presidential polls. He retained the seat in 2014 defeating CPI-M's Muzaffar Hossain by a slim margin of 8,161 votes. Trinamool Congress nominee S.K. Nurul Islam stood third.