As the second phase of Lok Sabha elections looms closer, the curtains draw to a close on campaigning in Kerala and Karnataka. With voting set for Friday (April 26), political parties have been engaged in an intense battle for voter support over the past two months.
Several leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai, and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, addressed to woo the voters on Wednesday.
Kerala Lok Sabha
Kerala is set to vote on Friday to elect 20 new Lok Sabha members. In the 2019 polls, the Congress-led UDF, which won 19 seats, secured a vote share of 47.48 per cent. The CPI(M)-led Left Front, which bagged just one seat, obtained 36.29 per cent of the votes, while the BJP managed to secure 15.64 per cent vote share.
Wednesday saw all candidates and their workers striving to reach as many places as possible. Each candidate from the three political fronts--UDF, LDF and BJP--expressed confidence in their victory and thanked the voters for their support.
The state also witnessed star campaigners including PM Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi among others.
Karnataka Lok Sabha
Karnataka has a total of 28 Lok Sabha segments. The remaining 14 constituencies, mostly in the northern districts, will go to polls on May 7.
In most southern and coastal districts of Karnataka, 247 candidates—comprising 226 men and 21 women—are vying for victory in the 14 Lok Sabha seats.
Chikkaballapur boasts the highest number of candidates with 29 contenders, while Bangalore Central follows closely with 24 candidates. Conversely, Dakshina Kannada has the fewest candidates, totaling nine, according to a report on PTI.
In the first phase, prominent candidates include Kumaraswamy from Mandya, his brother-in-law and noted cardiologist C N Manjunath from Bangalore Rural on a BJP ticket, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore, also from the BJP, and state Congress President Shivakumar's brother and MP D K Suresh from Bangalore Rural are contesting the elections.