Phase 6 is here; Lok Sabha polls head for an exciting finish

The fate of several Union ministers, including Radha Mohan Singh, Harshvardhan and Maneka Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia will be sealed on Sunday in the sixth and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls to be held in 59 constituencies in six states and Delhi.

Over 10.17 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballot to choose among the 979 candidates in fray. The Election Commission has set up over 1.13 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

Phase 6 is seen as a big test for the BJP which had won 45 of these seats in 2014. In Uttar Pradesh, it had won in 13 of the 14 constituencies in 2014, the only exception being Azamgarh, won by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, the BJP lost in the bypolls in Phulpur and Gorakhpur, home turf of Yogi Adityanath, last year.

In Madhya Pradesh, all eyes are on Bhopal, where senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is pitted against BJP nominee Pragya Singh Thakur. Guna constituency will lock the fate of Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The seventh and last round of this Lok Sabha elections will be held on May 19 and the results will be declared on May 23.

In the national capital, it is expected to be a three-cornered fight involving the BJP, AAP and the Congress. Prominent candidates in the fray include veteran Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, Olympian boxer Vijender Singh, Union minister Harsh Vardhan, Atishi from AAP and her BJP rival cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir.

Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar are among the 223 candidates in fray in Haryana. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a four-term MP from Rohtak, is trying his luck to enter the Lower House from Sonipat.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front constituents – the CPI(M), the CPI and the AIFB – are the main contenders in West Bengal. In this phase, polling will be held in Jangal Mahal – the forested region of Bankura, West Midnapore, Jhargram and Purulia districts, which used to be a Maoist hotbed, during the erstwhile Left Front government.

In Jharkhand, state minister Chandraprakash Choudhary, former cricketer Kirti Azad and ex-chief minister Madhu Koda's wife Gita are among the prominent faces.