Lok Sabha Polls Phase 3: Key Candidates And Constituencies To Watch Out For (image-X/ECISVEEP)

With anti-Muslim hate speeches, accusations of the Election Commission operating in a biased manner, a horrifying sexual abuse case, and a below-average voter turnout in the first two phases, the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections of India, the world’s largest democratic event, will be held on May 7 with 94 constituencies from 12 states going to polls.

All 25 constituencies, except Surat, where the BJP candidate won unopposed, in Gujarat will vote in the single phase tomorrow. Goa’s two constituencies – North and South Goa – will also vote on May 7. The remaining 14 constituencies in Karnataka, including north Karnataka, will also be voting in phase 3 of the elections.

Additionally, the Betul Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, initially scheduled to go to polls in phase 2 but postponed following the death of the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, will vote tomorrow in the third phase.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, scheduled to go to the polls on May 7, has been postponed to May 25, the sixth phase, following the demands of the BJP and other regional parties, much to the dismay of opposition parties.

The party or coalition that secures a majority in the lower house of Parliament will form the next government of India. The major contenders in the electoral race are the coalitions of the PM Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA Alliance), which comprises 26 parties, including Congress.

The voting will be counted and announced on June 4.

Beginning from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., the third phase of the national elections will be held in the states listed below:

• Assam – 4 out of the 14 seats
• Bihar – 5 out of the 40 seats
• Chhattisgarh – 7 of the 11 seats
• Dadra & Nagar Haveli/Daman and Diu – both the UT’s seats
• Goa – both the 2 seats
• Gujarat – All 25 out of the 26 seats
• Karnataka – 14 out of the 28 seats
• Madhya Pradesh – 9 out of the 29 seats
• Maharashtra – 11 out of the 48 seats
• Uttar Pradesh – 10 out of the 80 seats
• West Bengal – 4 out of the 42 seats

Key Constituencies And Their Candidates

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) – A BJP bastion, with party stalwarts such as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani having represented it, the Gandhinagar constituency will witness a clash between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Sonal Patel.

Back in the late 1980s, Advani led a campaign to build Ram Mandir on the destroyed remnants of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and won the seat six times. Shah made his entry in 2019, winning with a whopping 8.4 lakh votes. The former RSS member is known for being the brain behind the party’s rise over the years. Jailed and barred from visiting Gujarat in 2010 over alleged extrajudicial killings during his tenure as the state interior minister, the former BJP president was eventually cleared of all charges. While Gandhinagar used to be a Congress stronghold, the BJP’s rule took over in 1989, and it has been going undefeated since.

Guna (Madhya Pradesh) – The former MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has been nominated for the Guna Lok Sabha seat. The royals of Gwalior, veteran Congress leader and father Madhavrao Scindia, and grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia have both represented the Guna and Gwalior seats in the past. Having himself represented the seat from 2002 to 2019 as a Congress candidate, Scindia could not fight the Modi wave in the 2019 elections.

Once considered to be a close aid of Congress’ Gandhi family, following his defeat, Scindia joined the BJP in 2020, much to everyone’s shock. He will be pitted against Congress candidate Rao Yadavendra Singh.

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh) – Following his victory in the 2023 state legislative elections, the saffron party chose to field a younger candidate. After two decades, former state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting the elections as the BJP candidate from the BJP bastion. He has won the seat four times in the past. Some notable individuals who have won the seat are Vajpayee in 1991 and former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj in 2009 and 2014.

Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh) – Returning to his home turf, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh (1993–2000) is contesting the elections as a Congress candidate. Having won the seat in 1984 and 1991, Singh’s brother Laxman Singh took over and won five times from the seat. However, Laxman Singh joined the BJP in 2003. Rodmal Nagar, a BJP candidate, is the sitting MP set to face Digvijaya Singh. According to political analysts, the 70-year-old’s connection with the local people and his party members, along with the several yatras he conducted, could influence electoral results in what he calls his “last election.”

Baramati (Maharashtra) – An interesting clash is set to take place between the daughter of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, and her sister-in-law, Sunetra Pawar. Sule has been representing the constituency since 2009, while her father has himself represented the seat five times. The wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar, represents his NCP and is a formidable candidate against Sule. The electoral results from this constituency will also reflect the power struggle within the NCP party and its future leadership.

Shimoga (Karnataka) – Considered to be the citadel of the Yediyurappa political family, the BJP’s decision to nominate BY Raghavendra again created issues within the party. Once a top leader within the BJP, former chief minister KS Eshwarappa was expelled from the party following his opposition to his candidature. Now, he is contesting the elections as an independent candidate. To make this clash even more interesting, Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar’s wife, Geeth Shivrajkumar, is contesting as the candidate for Congress. Notably, the former JD(S) member is the daughter of former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa and sister of S. Madhu Bangarappa, who lost the 2018 by-polls and the 2019 elections against Raghavendra.

Dharwad (Karnataka) – Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi is seeking a fourth term in Dharwad. He has been winning the seat since 2004. Standing against Congress’ Vinod Asooti, Joshi served as the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in 2019.

Baharampur (West Bengal) – Mamata Banerjee’s TMC candidate is cricket veteran Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur, noted to have been a Congress stronghold since 1999 thanks to its candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Chowdhury has served as the Minister of State for Railways in former PM Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. He is also the current president of the party’s state unit.

South Goa (Goa) – Pallavi Dempo’s candidature from South Goa is important. Wife of chairman of the Dempo group Shrinivas Dempo, she is the first woman candidate to contest in the national elections for the BJP in Goa. The novice Dempo will be facing Congress candidate, Naval officer, and Kargil war veteran Captain Viriato Fernandes.

Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh) – Wife of Samajwadi Party president and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav has previously served as the MP from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, having been elected unopposed in 2012. The three-time MP will face the BJP”s Jaiveer Singh.

Phase three of the Lok Sabha elections will be held on May 7.