Millennium Post

Campaignin­g ends for first phase of Lok Sabha elections in 102 seats

8 UNION MINISTERS, TWO FORMER CMs, ONE EX-GOVERNOR IN FRAY

- OUR CORRESPOND­ENT

The electoral landscape is set to witness a significan­t event on April 19, as 102 constituen­cies across 21 states and Union territorie­s gear up for the first phase of elections. Campaignin­g activities for the first phase of the elections ended on Wednesday. This pivotal day will determine the political destinies of eight Union ministers, two ex-chief ministers, and a former governor.

In Nagpur, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is vying for his third consecutiv­e victory. His previous triumphs include a substantia­l win over seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar in 2014 and a victory against Maharashtr­a Congress chief Nana Patole in 2019.

Kiren Rijiju, the Union minister, is campaignin­g for the Arunachal West seat, a constituen­cy he has served since 2004. His primary opponent is Nabam Tuki, the former chief minister and current head of the Arunachal Pradesh Congress.

From Assam’s Dibrugarh, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanada Sonowal is making a bid to re-enter the Lok Sabha. Sonowal, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, was chosen over Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli.

The complex caste dynamics of Muzaffarna­gar are on full display as it hosts a triangular contest. Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan faces off against Samajwadi Party’s Harindra Malik and BSP’s Dara Singh Prajapati.

Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, is pursuing a third term in Udhampur, while Bhupendra Yadav, a Union minister and Rajya Sabha member, challenges sitting Congress MLA Lalit Yadav in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Union Law Minister, is contesting against former Congress minister Govind Ram Meghwal

for the Bikaner parliament­ary seat in Rajasthan.

A closely watched contest is unfolding in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituen­cy, where incumbent DMK MP A Raja is up against BJP’s L Murugan, the Union Minister of State for Fisheries.

Karti Chidambara­m, the Sivaganga MP, seeks re-election in a seat historical­ly won by his father, facing BJP’s T Devanathan Yadav and AIADMK’s Xavier Dass.

In Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai is competing against DMK’s Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK’s Singai

Ramachandr­an.

Tamilisai Soundarara­jan, who stepped down as governor of Telangana and Lt Governor of Puducherry, is running for the Chennai South Lok Sabha constituen­cy. She previously contested against DMK’s Kanimozhi in Thoothukud­i in 2019.

Kanimozhi herself is campaignin­g for re-election, with NDA ally Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) nominating SDR Vijayaseel­an and AIADMK selecting R Sivasami Velumani as their candidates.

Nakul Nath, son of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, is seeking to retain his seat in Chhindwara, a

stronghold for his family.

In Tripura, the West Tripura constituen­cy is set for an intense battle between former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha.

Gaurav Gogoi, Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha and son of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, is contesting from Jorhat in Assam, following a delimitati­on exercise that affected his previous constituen­cy, Kaliabor.

Basanta Kumar Singh, Manipur’s Law and Education Minister, is the BJP candidate for the Inner Manipur constituen­cy, facing

Churu, a BJP stronghold in northern Rajasthan, is preparing for a notable contest between BJP’s Devendra Jhajharia, a celebrated Paralympic gold medallist, and Congress’ Rahul Kaswan, a recent defector from the BJP.

Meanwhile, campaignin­g activities ended on Wednesday for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. The closing hours saw intensifie­d efforts by the NDA, spearheade­d by the BJP, and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc to sway the electorate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaign’s final stretch with extensive tours, rallying support with promises of hope, trust, and guarantees reflective of his terms in 2014, 2019, and the current year. Modi’s narrative emphasised a nationwide commitment to fulfilling these guarantees.

Top BJP figures, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, alongside Congress leaders Mallikarju­n Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, vigorously campaigned for their party candidates.

The BJP’s campaign rhetoric targeted the INDIA bloc, accusing them of corruption, nepotism, and disrespect towards the Constituti­on and Hinduism. Conversely, the Opposition criticised the ruling party for issues such as electoral bonds, alleged agency misuse, inflation, and unemployme­nt.

The 2019 elections saw the UPA secure 45 seats and the NDA 41 out of the 102 contested,

with six seats recently redefined through delimitati­on.

Voting will occur in all seats of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhan­d, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Lakshadwee­p. Additional polling will take place in select seats of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtr­a, Bihar, West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisga­rh.

Election authoritie­s have mandated the absence of non-local individual­s and barred all campaignin­g activities within these constituen­cies 48 hours prior to polling.

The first phase will also see voting in Chhattisga­rh’s Naxalaffec­ted Bastar, following a significan­t counter-insurgency operation.

The subsequent phase, involving 89 seats across 13 states and Union territorie­s, is slated for April 26.

The seven-phase polling process will ultimately fill the 543 seats of the 18th Lok Sabha, with the final count scheduled for June 4.

take care of your medical costs’’.

During the next five years, three crore new houses will also be constructe­d for the poor, he said.

`’The NDA government believes in `Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and ensures that each citizen gets the benefits they are entitled to without any discrimina­tion’’, he added.

Referring to the abolition of `triple talaq’, Modi said this has freed the Muslim women. `’We made a law against it which benefitted not only the Muslim sisters, but their entire family as triple talaq had destroyed the lives of many women and their families,’’ he added.

He said Muslim women in Assam have also benefited from the law.

“Assam has also witnessed unpreceden­ted developmen­t during the last ten years and when the intentions are right, the results are also good’’, he said.

`’Congress for its own benefit had deliberate­ly neglected the region so that they could indulge in corruption and loot. This situation has, however, been changed and the region is reaping the benefits of `Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’’, he claimed.

Recently, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation of a semiconduc­tor testing facility in Assam which will provide over 15,000 jobs to the youth.

`’This has been a historic and unpreceden­ted step. Assam will soon be recognised as a semiconduc­tor hub’’, Modi said.

The electricit­y bill of the people will also come to zero as they will be provided with solar panels while over 3 crore women associated with SHGs will be made `Lakhpati Didis’, he added.

All the promises made in the manifesto will be fulfilled and these will benefit the poor, deprived, dalits, farmers and the tea garden workers.

The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers has been raised

in Assam and they will continue to get the benefits of the PM Kisan Samman Nidihi.

“For me, your dreams are my promises. Each moment is dedicated to you, your dreams and the country’’, he added.

Modi was here to campaign for NDA candidates of three constituen­cies - Asom Gana Parishad’s Phani Bhushan Choudhury who is contesting from Barpeta, United People’s Party, Liberal (UPPL)’s Jayanta Basumatary from Kokrajhar and BJP’s Bijuli Kalita Medhi of Guwahati, who all were present at the rally.

 ?? PTI ?? Polling parties collect EVMs and other election material at a distributi­on centre ahead of Lok Sabha polls, in Dehradun, on Wednesday
PTI Polling parties collect EVMs and other election material at a distributi­on centre ahead of Lok Sabha polls, in Dehradun, on Wednesday

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