Lok Sabha Polls Phase-I: 102 constituencies in play, 8 ministers in fray

Here's a list of constituencies, incumbent parties, key candidates, and voter turnout in the 2019 General elections

The much-awaited Lok Sabha elections 2024 commence on April 19. Political fervour has hit its peak with campaigns, rallies, and roadshows as political parties engage in heated debates over promises, and allegations are flying thick and fast.  

Amidst the claims of imminent victory from both the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Congress-led INDIA bloc, tensions are running high in the political arena.

The first phase will see contest on 102 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats.

Here is an overview.

Which states/UTs will vote in Phase 1

States and UTs including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry will be voting on April 19.

 

1) Arunachal Pradesh: 2 out of 2 Lok Sabha constituencies

2) Assam: 5 out of 14 LS constituencies

3) Bihar: 4 out of 40 seats

4) Chhattisgarh: 1 out of 11 constituencies

5) Madhya Pradesh: 6 out of 29 seats

6) Maharashtra: 5 out of 48 seats

7) Manipur: 2 out of 2 constituencies

8) Meghalaya: 2 out of 2 constituencies

9) Mizoram: 1 out of 1 constituency

10) Nagaland: 1 out of 1 constituency

11) Rajasthan: 12 out of 25 seats

12) Sikkim: 1 out of 1 seat

13) Tamil Nadu: 39 out of 39 Lok Sabha constituencies

14) Tripura: One out of two seats

15) Uttar Pradesh: Eight out of 80 seats

16) Uttarakhand: Five out of five constituencies

17) West Bengal: Three out of 42 seats

18) Andaman and Nicobar Islands: One out of one seat

19) Jammu and Kashmir: One out of five seats

20) Lakshadweep: One out of one seat

21) Puducherry: One out of one constituency

West Bengal, UP and Bihar are scheduled to hold polls in all seven phases of the elections.

Incumbent parties in phase-1 constituencies

Arunachal Pradesh:

Arunachal East (gen) - BJP

Arunachal West (gen) - BJP

Assam:

Kaziranga (Gen) - Created last year to replace Kaliabor (held by Congress), following a delimitation exercise in Assam.

Sonitpur (Gen) - BJP

Lakhimpur (Gen) - BJP

Dibrugarh (Gen) - BJP

Jorhat (Gen) - BJP

Bihar:

Aurangabad (general) - BJP

Gaya (SC) - Janata Dal (United)

Nawada (general) - Lok Jan Shakti Party

Jamui (SC) - Lok Janshakti Party

Chhattisgarh:

Bastar (ST): Congress

Madhya Pradesh:

Sidhi (gen) -BJP

Shahdol (ST) - BJP

Jabalpur (gen) - BJP

Mandla (ST) - BJP

Balaghat (gen) - BJP

Chhindwara (gen) - Congress

Maharashtra:

Ramtek (SC) - Shiv Sena

Nagpur (gen) - Nitin Gadkari

Bhandara - Gondiya (gen) - BJP

Gadchiroli- Chimur (ST) - BJP

Chandrapur (gen) - Congress

Manipur:

Inner Manipur (gen) - BJP

Outer Manipur (ST) - Naga People's Front

Meghalaya:

Shillong (ST) - Congress

Tura (ST) - National People's Party

Mizoram:

Mizoram (ST) - Mizo National Front

Nagaland:

Nagaland (gen) - Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party

Rajasthan:

Ganganagar (SC) - BJP

Bikaner (SC) - BJP

Churu (gen) - BJP

Jhunjhunu (gen) - BJP

Sikar (gen) - BJP

Jaipur (gen) - BJP

Jaipur Rural (gen) - BJP

Alwar (gen) - BJP

Bharatpur (SC) - BJP

Karauli-Dholpur (SC) - BJP

Dausa (ST) - BJP

Nagaur (gen) - Rashtriya Loktantrik Party

Sikkim:

Sikkim (gen) - Sikkim Krantikari Morcha

Tamil Nadu:

The entire state will go to polls in a single phase on April 19. None of the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies are represented by the BJP. 24 are represented by the DMK, which also rules at the state level. The Congress represents nine seats in Tamil Nadu.

Tripura:

Tripura West (gen) - BJP

Uttarakhand:

Tehri Garhwal (gen) - BJP

Garhwal (gen) - BJP

Almora (SC) - BJP

Nainital- Udhamsingh Nagar (gen) - BJP

Hardwar (gen) - BJP

West Bengal:

Coochbehar (SC) - BJP

Alipurduars (ST) - BJP

Jalpaiguri (SC) - BJP

Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (gen) - Congress

Jammu-Kashmir:

Udhampur (gen) - BJP

Lakshadweep:

Lakshadweep (ST): Nationalist Congress Party

Puducherry:

Puducherry (gen) - Congress

Key candidates in phase-1 voting

Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase.

Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is vying for a third consecutive victory in the Nagpur constituency. He secured his first win in 2014 by defeating seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar with a margin of 284 thousand votes, and successfully retained the seat in 2019 by surpassing the Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole by 216 thousand votes.

Kiren Rijiju, the Union minister, is contesting from the Arunachal West constituency. Representing the area thrice since 2004, the 52-year-old's primary opponent is the former chief minister and current president of Arunachal Pradesh Congress, Nabam Tuki.

Sarbanada Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, is aiming for re-election to the Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh in Assam. Sonowal, a Rajya Sabha member, stepped into the Dibrugarh race after Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, did not receive a ticket.

Muzaffarnagar, with its intricate caste dynamics, is witnessing a three-way electoral showdown, featuring Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan against Samajwadi Party’s Harindra Malik and BSP candidate Dara Singh Prajapati.

Jitendra Singh, a two-time parliamentarian and a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, is eying a third consecutive victory in Udhampur.

Bhupendra Yadav, Union minister and Rajya Sabha member, who replaced sitting MP Balak Nath, is in a contest with sitting Congress MLA Lalit Yadav, backed by the Yadav community of the Matsya region in Alwar district, Rajasthan.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is facing off against former Congress minister Govind Ram Meghwal for the Bikaner parliamentary seat in Rajasthan.

Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram is seeking re-election from a constituency that his father held for seven terms, competing against BJP’s T Devanathan Yadav and AIADMK’s Xavier Dass.

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai is undergoing the electoral test in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore where he is competing against DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK’s Singai Ramachandran.

Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana and Lt Governor of Puducherry to return to active politics, is contesting from Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency.

Nakul Nath, son of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, is seeking re-election from Chhindwara, a seat firmly held by Kamal Nath for nine terms since 1980. In the 2019 polls, BJP secured 28 out of the state’s 29 seats, missing only Chhindwara, where Nakul emerged victorious over the BJP candidate by 37,536 votes, becoming the sole Congress MP from the state.

Voter turnout in 2019 LS elections

Arunachal Pradesh: 82.1% (Total)

Arunachal East (gen) - 89.2%

Arunachal West (gen) - 78.5%

Assam: 87.7%

Kaziranga (Gen) - Created last year to replace Kaliabor (held by Congress), following a delimitation exercise in Assam- 86.6%

Sonitpur (Gen) - 83.9%

Lakhimpur (Gen) - 80.1%

Dibrugarh (Gen) - 81.9%

Jorhat (Gen) - 81.1%

Bihar: 58.1% 

Aurangabad (general) - 55.5%

Gaya (SC) - 58.1%

Nawada (general) - 51.7% 

Jamui (SC) - 57.8%

Chhattisgarh: 73.8%

Bastar (ST): 70.3%

Madhya Pradesh: 73%

Sidhi (gen) - 70.7%

Shahdol (ST) - 77.3%

Jabalpur (gen) - 71.7%

Mandla (ST) - 81.5%

Balaghat (gen) - 79.8%

Chhindwara (gen) - 85.7%

Maharashtra: 64.1%

Ramtek (SC) - 66.5%

Nagpur (gen) - 57.8%

Bhandara - Gondiya (gen) - 71.5%

Gadchiroli- Chimur (ST) - 76.7%

Chandrapur (gen) - 67.7%

Rajasthan: 67.9%

Ganganagar (SC) - 77.2%

Bikaner (SC) - 62.1%

Churu (gen) - 68.2%

Jhunjhunu (gen) - 64.6%

Sikar (gen) - 67.5%

Jaipur (gen) - 71.6%

Jaipur Rural (gen) - 67.8% 

Alwar (gen) - 61.7%

Bharatpur (SC) - 60.7%

Karauli-Dholpur (SC) - 56.4%

Dausa (ST) - 63.2%

Nagaur (gen) - 69.8%

Uttarakhand: 64%

Tehri Garhwal (gen) - 61.3% 

Garhwal (gen) - 58.3%

Almora (SC) - 55.1%

Nainital- Udhamsingh Nagar (gen) - 72.3%

Hardwar (gen) - 71.5%

West Bengal: 78.6%

Coochbehar (SC) - 91.2%

Alipurduars (ST) - 91.7%

Jalpaiguri (SC) - 94%

Manipur: 91.2%

Inner Manipur (gen) - 89.1% 

Outer Manipur (ST) - 93.7%

Meghalaya: 74%

Shillong (ST) - 68.3%

Tura (ST) - 85.1%

Mizoram: 68.9%

Mizoram (ST) - 69.3%

Nagaland: 84.5%

Nagaland (gen) - 84.7%

Sikkim: 85.7%

Sikkim (gen) - 86.3%

Tamil Nadu: 73.3%

The entire state will go to polls in a single phase on April 19. None of the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies are represented by the BJP. 24 are represented by the DMK, which also rules at the state level. The Congress represents nine seats in Tamil Nadu.

Tripura: 87.6%

Tripura West (gen) - 87.1%

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: 77%

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (gen) - 77.5%

Jammu-Kashmir: 49.3%

Udhampur (gen) - 79.7%

Lakshadweep: 94.2%

Lakshadweep (ST)- 94.4%

Puducherry: 81.5%

Puducherry (gen) - 82.8%