 "Lok Sabha polls: Akhilesh, Owaisi, Mahua key names in fourth lap. Full list")
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections kicked off on Monday morning across 10 states and Union territories. A total of 1,717 candidates are in the fray on 96 Lok Sabha seats, and their fate is now in the hands of approximately 177 million eligible voters.
The fourth lap of the election will also seal the fate of some of the prominent candidates, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, former cricket player Yusuf Pathan among others.
Here’s a detailed list of key contestants of phase four:
1) Mahua Moitra (Krishnanagar, West Bengal): Mahua Moitra, a prominent figure in the Trinamool Congress, is striving to regain her parliamentary seat from Krishnanagar. She was suspended last year due to her alleged involvement in a cash-for-query case, which revolves around accusations of unethical behaviour in parliamentary queries for financial gain. Despite the setback, Moitra aims for redemption and will compete against BJP candidate Amrita Roy, who belongs to the Krishnanagar Royal family.
2) Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj): Akhilesh Yadav, a former UP chief minister and the chief of the Samajwadi Party, is contesting from party’s strong-hold Kannauj. The seat is currently occupied by Subrata Pathak of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who is eyeing a re-election from the constituency. In the 2019 elections, Pathak clinched victory by defeating Yadav's wife, Dimple. The seat was considered an SP bastion since 1998 until the BJP’s breach in 2019.
3) Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Baharampur): The Baharampur constituency in West Bengal is poised for a significant contest between the Congress and the TMC, both allies in the Opposition’s INDIA bloc. Following a deadlock in seat-sharing negotiations, the TMC has nominated former cricketer Yusuf Pathan to contest against the incumbent MP and senior Congress leader, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Chowdhury has been winning the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency since 1999.
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4) Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad): All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi is expecting to retain his Hyderabad constituency. The four-time AIMIM MP will put up a fight against the BJP candidate Madhavi Lata, who has been actively campaigning in the constituency as the BJP’s first female candidate from the seat.
5) Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar): BJP heavyweight and Union minister Giriraj Singh is expecting to retain his seat from this key Bihar Lok Sabha constituency. Notably, Begusarai was once considered a stronghold of the Congress and the Communist Party of India until BJP clinched it in 2014. This year, the CPI, backed by its INDIA allies, has fielded former MLA, Awadhesh Rai, as the joint candidate to reclaim their lost bastion. In 2019, Singh had trumped CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar, the former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.
6) Y S Sharmila (Kadapa, Andhra): The high-profile Lok Sabha constituency is embroiled in a familial feud. On this seat, former Andhra CM YSR’s daughter and state Congress president, Y S Sharmila, is pitted against her cousin, YS Avinash Reddy, a two-time incumbent MP. Reddy is running on a ticket from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), headed by Sharmila’s brother and current Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy. Sharmila joined the Congress earlier this year. She parted ways with her brother politically in July 2021 and subsequently established her own political outfit, the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP). Both the siblings are aiming to outperform each other in the elections, with the objective to reclaim their father's political legacy.
6) Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol): Actor-turned politician Shaturghan Sinha is contesting from Asansol Lok Sabha constituency on a TMC ticket. He is facing sitting BJP MP from Bardhaman-Durgapur, SS Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia's nomination followed after the BJP’s earlier choice, actor-singer Pawan Singh, was replaced after receiving criticism by the TMC for his misogynistic songs.
7) Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh): Former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh is contesting from Bihar’s Munger seat against INDIA bloc’s joint candidate Anita Kumari Mahto of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Singh, a sitting MP and close aide of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, had defeated Congress’ Nilam Devi in 2019 to win the seat. Notably, Nilam Devi is the wife of bahubali (strongman) Anant Singh.