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Largest phase of Lok Sabha polls takes off; biggies in fray

Fates of candidates in 116 seats in 12 states, 2 UTs will be sealed today

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Voting for the most crucial phase of 2019 elections will be held today in 116 constituencies, including Tripura where polling was deferred last time and Anantnag where polling is being held in three phases and will be counted as a constituency in the fifth phase.

Among the 12 states and two UTs, polling on 26 seats in Gujarat, 20 in Kerala 2 in Goa, and one each in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu will get completed in the single phase today. Congress president, Rahul Gandhi's political future is at stake in Kerala where he is fighting from Wayanad. He is facing BJP ally Bharath Dharma Jana Sena's Thushar Vellapally and Left Front candidate Suneer of CPI. The contest has been made tough for Rahul Gandhi as two of his namesake Raghul Gandhi K and Rahul Gandhi KE are also in the fray as independents.

In Chhattisgarh too the election will end with voting in last seven constituencies of Surguja, Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa, Korba, Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur. The BJP has changed all candidates on these seats that have won elections in 2014 elections is banking only on PM Modi's popularity to win against Congress that recently swept Assembly polls.

The fates of candidates in 14 constituencies in Maharashtra will be sealed.



Voting is being held on 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, electorally the most crucial state that alone sends 80 Lok Sabha members. Here the BJP led NDA, tri-party Mahagathbandhan of SP-BSP and RLD and Congress are engaged in a tight contest on several seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, the most interesting seats to watch in the third phase are Moradabad, Rampur, Mainpuri, Bareilly and Pilibhit. In place of Raj Babbar who has been shifted to Fatehpur Sikri, the Congress has chosen an immensely popular young Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi to fight against Samajwadi Party candidate a popular local doctor, ST Hasan and sitting BJP MP Sarvesh Singh who won by 70K votes in 2014. Like in case of other seats where the Ganthbandhan and Congress have pitted Mulsim candidates against each other, the BJP is banking on the division of votes to score a win here.

Union minister Santosh Gangwar is seeking re-election from Bareilly that he has represented since 1989 except in 2009. During last elections, Gangwar had won by 2.4 lakh votes against SP's Ayesha Islam. Gangwar is facing SP's Bhagwat Saran Gangwar and Congress Praveen Singh Aron who defeated him in 2009. Incindetally, the SP and BSP have never won fighting alone here.

People are looking at Rampur keenly that offers interesting fights between Mahagathbandhan candidate Azam Khan of SP and BJP's Jayaprada who earlier had won twice on SP's ticket here. The recent lewd remarks made by Azam Khan and his son against Jayaprada have brightened the chances of BJP in Rampur.

Sanjay Gandhi's son Varun Gandhi is the BJP candidate from Pilighit that has remained a bastion of his mother Maneka Gandhi. Interestingly, he has not invoked PM Modi's name and is banking on her mother here, the outgoing MP. He is in a straight fight with Mahathbandhan's Hemraj Verma, a popular local face.

Gandhinagar is the most watched out seat ion Gujarat where election is being held on all 26 seats. Replacing six-time MP LK Advani, BJP president Amit Shah is making his Lok Sabha debut here. His contender is two-time MLA CJ Chavda from Congress.

In Dahod, union minister for tribal affairs Jasvantsinh Bhabor is seeking a second-term and is up against Congress' Babubhai Katara. The seat was a Congress stronghold until 1998.

BJP's six-time veteran Mansukhbhai Vasava is pitted against Congress' heavyweight Sherkhan Pathan in Bharuch who faces serious criminal charges. While in Surat, sitting BJP MP since 2009, Darshana Jardosh, is engaged in the electoral battle Ashok Adhevada of Congress.

Dhubri and Kokrajhar are the seats to be watched in Assam. All India United Democratic Front's Founder Badruddin Ajmal is trying for a third term in Dhubri against Abu Taher Bepari of Congress and Nurul Islam of Trinamool Congress. In Kokrajhar, the outgoing MP Naba Kumar Sarania, former commander of banned militant group ULFA, is fighting against former Rajya Sabha, Urkhao Brahma, Pramila Rani Brahma, a minister in the BJP-led Assam government, and Sabda Ram Rabha of Congress. Kokrajhar has traditionally elected only Bodo leaders to the Lok Sabha.

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