Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 1: The inaugural phase of voting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections is commencing on April 19. Phase 1 polling will encompass 102 constituencies spanning 21 states and Union Territories (UTs). June 4 is when the votes will be tallied.
On April 19, the first round of Lok Sabha elections will be accompanied by assembly elections in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Constituencies that will vote in phase 1
The first phase of voting will take place on April 19 and will involve the following states and union territories: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar.
Important candidates and constituencies in Phase 1:
1. Uttar Pradesh -Jitin Prasada
The Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh has gained significant attention in the electoral landscape following the BJP’s nomination of Jitin Prasada, who replaces Varun Gandhi. The main contenders in the election include Jitin Prasada of the BJP, Bhagwant Samajwadi Party member Saran Gangwar, and Bahujan Samaj Party member Anees Ahmes Khan (BSP). On a Congress platform, Jitin Prasada previously won the Shahjahanpur seat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2004. After securing the Dhaurahara seat in 2009, he served as a Union Minister in the Congress government. His decision to join the BJP came in 2021. -Lok Sabha Election 2024
2. Karnataka – Karti Chidambaram
Sivaganga MP K Chidambaram is seeking re-election from a constituency that his father represented seven times. He faces competition from T Devanathan Yadav of the BJP and Xavier Dass of the AIADMK.
3. Maharashtra -Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is aiming for his third consecutive victory from the Nagpur constituency. In 2014, he secured a win by defeating seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar with a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. He retained the seat in 2019, defeating the current Maharashtra Congress chief, Nana Patole, by 2.16 lakh votes.
4.Tamil Nadu- Dayanidhi Maran
The Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu is set to witness a heated contest between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the BJP. Incumbent MP Dayanidhi Maran, aiming to hold onto the seat, is representing the DMK, while the BJP has nominated Vinoj P Selvam. Chennai Central is widely regarded as a stronghold for the DMK.
5. Uttar Pradesh- Imran Masood
In the pivotal Lok Sabha constituency of Saharanpur in Western Uttar Pradesh, a three-way race is underway. Imran Masood, endorsed by the Congress-SP alliance, will contend against Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma of the BJP and Majid Ali of the BSP. Notably, Masood is the nephew of Rashid Masood, a nine-term MP with a significant political legacy, having served five terms in the Lok Sabha and four terms in the Rajya Sabha.
6.Tamil Nadu-Tamilisai Soundararajan
Tamilisai Soundararajan, a BJP candidate, recently resigned as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry to return to active politics. She is the BJP’s contender for the Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency. Tamilisai is the daughter of Kumari Ananthan, a longtime Congress leader.
7. Madhya Pradesh -Nakul Nath
Nakul Nath, the son of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is running for re-election in Chhindwara. Kamal Nath has held the seat since 1980, and he has won it nine times. Despite winning 28 of the state’s 29 seats in the 2019 elections, the BJP was unable to win Chhindwara, as Nakul defeated the BJP’s nominee by 37,536 votes to become the state’s lone Congress MP.
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8. Tamil Nadu- K Annamalai
BJP state president K Annamalai will compete in Coimbatore against AIADMK leader Singai Ramachandran and DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar.