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As the country awaits the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the electoral arena is filled with anticipation. A total of 8,360 candidates are awaiting the outcome of their efforts to secure victory in the parliamentary constituencies they contested.
With just a few hours left for the final results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, here are the key battles to watch out for:
PM Modi vs. Six Others in Varanasi
Varanasi, which went to the polls in the seventh and final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, drew significant attention as Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested the seat for the third consecutive time, following his victories in 2014 and 2019.
The Congress party fielded its Uttar Pradesh Congress chief and seasoned politician with roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Ajay Rai, against PM Modi. Other candidates in the election include Kolisetty Shiva Kumar (Yuga Thulasi Party), Ather Jamal Lari (Bahujan Samaj Party), Gagan Prakash Yadav (Apna Dal, Kameravadi), Dinesh Kumar Yadav (Independent), and Sanjay Kumar Tiwari (Independent).
Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad and Raebareli
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest from two constituencies in this Lok Sabha election – Wayanad and Raebareli.
He is set to represent the Wayanad seat in Kerala for the second consecutive time. In Wayanad, he will face BJP state president K Surendran and prominent CPI leader Annie Raja. Additionally, in Raebareli, a stronghold of the Gandhi family, Rahul will compete against Bharatiya Janata Party's Dinesh Pratap Singh.
Amit Shah from Gandhinagar
BJP candidate Amit Shah is once again prepared to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, his home state. The Minister of Home Affairs will face Congress’ Sonal Patel, the former chairperson of the women’s wing of the Gujarat Congress, in this urban constituency.
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Akhilesh Yadav vs. BJP's Subrat Pathak in UP's Kannauj
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, where he faces the BJP candidate and current Member of Parliament (MP) Subrat Pathak.
The Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency has been a traditional stronghold for the Samajwadi Party for decades. In 1967, Ram Manohar Lohia won the seat as a Samyukta Socialist Party candidate. Subsequently, it was held by the Janata Party twice. The seat later became a Samajwadi Party bastion, largely due to the political strategy of Akhilesh’s father and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Smriti Irani vs. KL Sharma in Amethi
Amethi, one of the prominent parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh, is set for a fierce contest between BJP leader Smriti Irani and Congress' KL Sharma. Smriti Irani, who won the seat in 2019, faces KL Sharma, a known loyalist of the Gandhi family.
Established as a constituency in 1967, Amethi had been a long-standing stronghold of the Congress party, represented by notable members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi. The BJP's Smriti Irani broke the Gandhi family's legacy in Amethi by defeating Rahul Gandhi, marking a significant shift in the constituency's political landscape.
Shashi Tharoor vs. Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram
The Thiruvananthapuram constituency, one of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala, is set for a contest between the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor from Congress and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from BJP. Additionally, the seat will see a three-way contest as the Communist Party of India (CPI) has nominated Panniyan Raveendran.
While Congress and CPI are allied at the national level under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), they are competing against each other in Kerala.
Nitin Gadkari vs. Vikas Thakre in Nagpur
BJP candidate and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is running against Congress’s Vikas Thakre for Maharashtra’s Nagpur Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Gadkari previously won this seat in the last two Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, he defeated seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of 2,84,000 votes, and in 2019, he triumphed over the current Congress Maharashtra unit chief Nana Patole.
BJP's Kangana Ranaut vs. Congress' Vikramaditya Singh in Mandi
Two prominent candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Mandi are Kangana Ranaut from the BJP and Vikramaditya Singh from the Congress. Historically, the Congress party has held a strong presence in Mandi, with the late Virbhadra Singh representing the constituency three times and Pratibha Singh securing three victories, including two by-elections.
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi vs. BJP's Madhavi Latha in Hyderabad
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat is witnessing an intense battle between the incumbent Member of Parliament and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and BJP’s firebrand leader Madhavi Latha.
According to the News18 Mega Exit Poll projections, four-time MP Owaisi might maintain his stronghold, though newcomer Latha is expected to offer a tough challenge.
BJP's Manoj Tiwari vs. Congress' Kanhaiya Kumar in Northeast Delhi
The incumbent BJP Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari will compete against Congress’ Kanhaiya Kumar for the North-East Delhi seat. Both leaders, Tiwari and Kumar, hail from Bihar and are vying for a constituency with a significant population from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar is relying on ten years of anti-incumbency against Manoj Tiwari.
Amritpal Singh in Khadoor Sahib
The entry of jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh into the poll fray as an Independent candidate from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat has stirred the politics in the region.
