Lok Sabha elections: Prominent candidates in fray for first phase

The high decibel campaign by political parties for the first phase of the crucial Lok Sabha elections has ended on Tuesday. Ninety-one parliamentary constituencies spread over 18 states and two Union Territories will go to the polls under the first of the seven-phase general elections.

NEW DELHI: High-decibel campaigning for 91 Lok Sabha constituencies in 18 states and two Union Territories going to polls on April 11 has ended on Tuesday. In Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha, assembly polls to 175, 32 and 28 seats, respectively, will be held simultaneously in the first phase.

In eight western Uttar Pradesh constituencies the ruling BJP will clash with the newly-formed SP-BSP-RLD alliance. In Muzaffarnagar, RLD chief Ajit Singh will take on BJP's Sanjeev Balyan. His son Jayant Chaudhary is fielded against Union minister Satyapal Singh in Baghpat. Union ministers V K Singh and Mahesh Sharma are BJP candidates in Ghaziabad and Guatam Budh Nagar, respectively.

Polling in Uttarkhand's five Lok Sabha seats will be completed on April 11. Interesting contests are expected in Tehri, where BJP has pitted twice MP Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah against Pritam Singh, in Nanital where its senior leader Ajay Bhatt, who is making his poll debut, is pitted against Harish Rawat.

In Telangana, elections will be held on all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the first phase.The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti is hoping to sweep the polls in alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, who is aiming for a fourth consecutive win from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha is seeking re-election from Nizamabad seat. Other prominent candidates are Congress leader Renuka Chowdary (Khammam) and state Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy.

In Maharashtra Polling will be held for seven seats -- Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha, Bhandara-Gondia, Yavatmal-Washim, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Ramtek-- on April 11. In Nagpur, senior BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari is locked in a battle with Congress' Nana Patole, a former BJP MP. In Chandrapur, another Union minister, Hansaraj Ahir of the BJP, is seeking a fourth term. The Congress has fielded Suresh Dhanorkar against him.

Key faces in the first phase

Uttar Pradesh

Muzzafarnagar: RLD- Chaudhary Ajit Singh, BJP- Sanjeev Balyan

Baghpat: BJP- Satyapal Singh, RLD- Jayant Chaudhary

Ghaziabad: BJP- VK Singh, SP- Suresh Bansal

Gautam Buddh Nagar: BJP- Mahesh Sharma, BSP- Satbeer Nagar

Uttarakhand

Nainital-Uddham Singh Nagar: Congress- Harish Rawat, BJP-Ajay Bhatt

Haridwar: BJP-Ramesh Pokhyral Nishank, Congress-Ambreesh Kumar

Maharashtra

Nagpur: BJP- Nitin Gadkari, Congress- Nana Patole

Chandrapur: BJP- Hansraj Ahir, Congress- Suresh Dhanokar

Bihar

Jamui: LJP (NDA Ally)- Chirag Paswan, RLSP (Grand Alliance)- Bhuvdev Choudhary

Gaya: HAM (Grand Alliance)- Jeetan Ram Manjhi, JDU (NDA)- Vijay Kumar Manjhi

Assam

Kaliabor: Congress- Gaurav Gogoi, Assam Gana Parishad (NDA ally)- Moni Madhab Mahant

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal West: BJP- Kiren Rijuju, Congress- Nabam Tuki

Telangana

Hyderabad: AIMIM- Asadudddin Owaisi, BJP- Bhagwant Rao

Nizamabad: TRS- K. Kavitha, Congress- Madhu Yakshi Gowd

Khammam: Congress- Renuka Choudhary, TRS- Nama Nageshwar Rao

Andhra Pradesh

Vishakapatnam: BJP- D. Purandeshawari, TDP- M. Bharath, YSR Congress- MVV Satyanarayana

Viziangaram: TDP- Ashok Ganpati Raju, YSR Congress- Bellani Chandrashekhar

Meghalaya

Tura: NPP- Agatha Sangma, Congress-Mukul Sangma