Voting in 49 districts spread over six states and two Union territories is now underway for the fifth phase of the 2024 general elections. In Maharashtra, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, voting is now taking place. Today will decide the destiny of up to 695 candidates, some of them are well-known ministers and members of parliament.
Recognize the Important Candidates for the Phase 5 Lok Sabha Elections in 2024
Rahul Gandhi, upazila of Rae Bareli: Rahul Gandhi, a senior Congressman, is a contender from the Rae Bareli seat. Rahul Gandhi’s mother Sonia Gandhi has left the seat, which is a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family, vacant. BJP has announced Dinesh Pratap Singh, a minister in Uttar Pradesh, as its Raebareli candidate.
Smriti Irani (Amethi, UP): In Amethi, Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma is the opponent of senior BJP leader Smriti Irani. Irani is running for office a third time from Amethi, having lost to Rahul Gandhi by a margin of one lakh votes in 2014 and triumphed by a landslide of almost 55,000 votes in 2019. For many years, Amethi has served as the Congress party’s bastion. But the Gandhi family’s tenure in the Lok Sabha came to an end in 2019 when Irani defeated Rahul in the election.
Rajnath Singh (Lucknow, UP): Samajwadi Party candidate Ravidas Mehrotra will square off against BJP mainstay Rajnath Singh for this seat.
Chirag Paswan (Hajipur, Bihar): Chandra Ram of the RJD will challenge the president of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), LJP.
Rohini Acharya (Saran, Bihar): an RJD leader from Saran, Bihar, is a candidate. She is the daughter of former Bihar Chief Minister and party leader Lalu Prasad. She will compete against Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP.
Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North): a Union Minister and leader of the BJD, is a candidate from Mumbai North. Goyal and Congress candidate Bhushan Patil will square off.
Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South, Maharashtra): Arvind Sawant, a two-time MP and head of the Shiv Sena UBT, is the candidate put forward by the Maha Vikas Aghadi for this seat. He is running against Shiv Sena leader Yamini Jadhav, who is presently the MLA for the Byculla Assembly constituency and is led by CM Shinde.
Ujjwal Nikam (Mumbai North-Central): The BJP nominated renowned attorney Ujjwal Nikam, who served as the special public prosecutor for the 1993 serial explosions and the Mumbai terror attack, in lieu of Poonam Mahajan. Varsha Gaikwad, the head of the Congress, will face Nikam.
Omar Abdullah (Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir): Omar Abdullah, vice-president of the National Conference, is running for the Lok Sabha constituency from Baramulla. Abdullah will square off against Sajjad Gani Lone of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference and Fayaz Ahmad Mir of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party.
