Lok Sabha polls Phase 7: PM Modi, Kangana Ranaut, Abhishek Banerjee among prominent candidates in fray

New Delhi: Voting for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, which covers 57 seats across seven States and one Union Territory, is set to decide the electoral fate of leaders from some of the high-profile constituencies, including Varanasi, Mandi, Chandigarh and Amritsar.

Of the 57 Lok Sabha seats going to polls on Saturday, 9 are from West Bengal, 13 each from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, 8 from Bihar, 6 from Odisha, 4 from Himachal Pradesh, 3 from Jharkhand, and the lone seat of Chandigarh.

A total of 904 candidates are contesting the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The seventh phase will witness key contests in various constituencies.

The prominent candidates in the fray include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP leaders Kangana Ranaut, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Anurag Thakur, Ravi Kishan, Nishikant Dubey, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Charanjit Singh Channi, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti.

Key candidates and constituencies in Phase 7 polls:

Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sitting MP and BJP's candidate is seeking a third consecutive term from the constituency and hoping to win with a record margin. He will face Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi won the seat with over 6,74,664 votes and commanded a vote share of 63.6 per cent. In 2014, PM Modi won the Varanasi seat for the first time on a BJP ticket, receiving 56.37 per cent of the total votes, while Arvind Kejriwal from the AAP came in second with 20.30 per cent and Ajay Rai from the Congress party came in third with 7.34 per cent of the votes.

PM Modi urged the BJP workers to ensure a good voter turnout in his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi, which goes to the polls on June 1.

Ajai Rai began his political career as a member of the Hindu nationalist outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Rai's political trajectory saw him win the Kolasla seat in 1996 and secure a ministerial berth in the BSP-BJP alliance government. However, he parted ways with the BJP in 2007 and joined the Samajwadi Party before eventually aligning with the Congress in 2012.
Mandi

The Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress, as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family. Here BJP has fielded Kangana Ranaut The son of six-time Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh is locked in a high-profile battle here.

The seat is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh, the late leader's widow. She wrested the seat for the Congress in the by-election that was held following the demise of the BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.

Kangana Ranaut has been saying that she will work for the progress of women as well as for the infrastructural development in the constituency.

On the other hand, Congress has been campaigning on the pitch that Kangana Ranaut doesn't have an idea about the issues on the ground. Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh hit out at the actor-turned-politician, asserting that she has no dedication or understanding of the issues of Himachal Pradesh.

Hamirpur

The Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency is a stronghold of the BJP. Union Minister Anurag Thakur has consistently won this seat three times.

Before him, his father and former chief minister of the state, Prem Kumar Dhumal, has also been a three-term parliamentarian. Thakur will face Congress leader Satpal Singh Raizada from this seat.

Anurag Thakur is trying to woo the voters by counting the developmental works done by BJP. He said, "Today's India wants to move forward, that is why it is going to choose a strong and powerful leadership again. In six phases, the entire country has voted enthusiastically to take the resolution of developed India to fruition and to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country for the third time. Hamirpur Lok Sabha and Himachal Pradesh are also going to vote in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in huge numbers in the seventh and final phase on June 1."

Congress, on the other hand, decided to go with one of the popular faces from one of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Hamirpur, Una and chose former MLA Satpal Singh Raizada as their candidate for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. He defeated the sitting MLA of that time, Satpal Singh Satti of BJP, in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections to secure his first major victory. Satpal Singh Raizada currently holds the position of Himachal Pradesh Congress' Vice President.

Gorakhpur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again fielded their sitting MP and actor Ravi Kishan as their Lok Sabha candidate, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded actress Kajal Nishad. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Javed Simanani.

Considered to be a bastion of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gorakhpur is set for a fierce battle between the two Bhojpuri actors.

Also the Peethadheeshwar of the famous 'Gorakshapeeth' (Gorakhnath temple), Yogi Adityanath won the seat five times in a row from 1998 to 2014.

In the by-elections held after he became the Chief Minister in 2017, the SP won from here, however, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP reclaimed the seat with Ravi Kishan as its candidate. Ravi Kishan is banking on the support of CM Yogi, who served five terms as MP from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency.

SP's candidate, Kajal Nishad, has worked in the Bhojpuri film industry and is entering her first major political contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Kajal Nishad is a popular TV actress and has worked in various daily soaps, including Lapataganj.

Ludhiana

The seat is witnessing a multi-cornered contest among the Bharatiya Janata Party leader and two-time Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashok Parashar Pappi. Shiromani Akali Dal has fielded Ranjit Singh Dhillon as the party's candidate from Ludhiana.

Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and the son of former Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Bittu defeated Simarjeet Singh Bains from the Lok Insaaf Party by 76,372 votes. In 2014, he defeated the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Harvinder Singh Phoolka with a margin of 19,709 votes.

The Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring expressed his confidence in winning the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, stating that the warm welcome he has received from the people of Ludhiana indicates that they are going to shower him with immense love and support in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu has appealed to the voters of Ludhiana to vote for the development model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Let's come together to make Shrestha Ludhiana."
Chandigarh

Congress leader Manish Tewari will be aiming to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party from registering a hattrick on the seat of Chandigarh. Tewari is pitted against Sanjay Tandon, a candidate BJP named to replace its two-time MP from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, who won the seat both in 2014 and 2019.

As part of his campaign, Tewari has presented a 'city-specific' manifesto. Under this, he has promised 20,000 litres of free water every month and 300 units of free electricity to families with a monthly income of up to Rs 20,000.
Jalandhar

Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has been fielded by the Congress. He will face BJP's Sushil Kumar Rinku and AAP leader Pawan Kumar Tinu. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress candidate Santokh Chaudhary won this seat. However, Chaudhary died of a cardiac arrest in January 2023. Sushil Kumar Rinku registered victory in the bypoll here on the AAP ticket however he later joined the BJP.
Diamond Harbour

West Bengal Chief Minister's nephew and TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee will look to retain this seat. He is pitted against BJP leader Abhijit Das (Bobby) and CPI(M) Pratik Ur Rahaman.
Ghazipur

BJP's Paras Nath Rai is in the electoral fray against Samajwadi Party's incumbent MP Afzal Ansari, who is the brother of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

In the 2019 elections, Ansari won the seat and gathered 5,66,082 votes. He defeated Manoj Sinha, the present Jammu and Kashmir governor, who got 4,46,690 votes. Afzal Ansari in his public meeting raked up the issue of his brother Mukhtar Ansari's death. He appealed to the people to teach the lesson to concerned people by ensuring his win.
Bathinda

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and three-time MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD) will be looking for the fourth straight victory. She is pitted against Congress' Jeet Mohinder Singh, AAP leader Gurmeet Singh Khudian and former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu from the BJP.
Godda

Three-time BJP MP from Godda, Nishikant Dubey is facing INDIA bloc candidate Pradeep Yadav from this seat.
Patna Sahib

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad will look to retain this constituency. He is pitted against Congress leader Anshul Avijit, who is the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Also, Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh is contesting from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate.

In Amritsar, the BJP fielded Taranjit Singh who will face Congress incumbent MP Gurjeet Aujla.

Polling for 486 Parliamentary constituencies has already been completed. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly Constituencies of the Odisha State Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously on Saturday.

Election Commission of India said that around 10.9 lakh Polling officials will welcome over 10.06 crore electors across ~1.09 lakh polling stations. Over 10.06 crore electors include approx. 5.24 crore Male; 4.82 crore Female and 3574 Third gender electors.

The counting of votes will be done on June 4.