Lok Sabha Elections Phase 1: Key battles and big names in fray

BJP candidates K Annamalai (left) and Nitin Gadkari (right)

The Lok Sabha Elections 2024's first phase began on April 19 and featured a number of well-known candidates and high-profile contests. In an effort to increase BJP's influence in the South, K Annamalai of the BJP faces up against Ganapathy P Rajkumar of the DMK and Singai Ramachandran of the AIADMK in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, reported ANI.

In his post on X, Annamalai said, "For an honest political change to take place in Tamil Nadu, for youth politics to be born, for equal opportunities to flourish for all, for the pride of Kongu land to be known throughout the country, for Coimbatore to travel on the path of development, I earnestly request all the voters of the Coimbatore Parliament to vote for the lotus symbol."

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Meanwhile, Congressman Vikas Thakre is running against Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur, Maharashtra, hoping for his third straight victory. Relying on his prior successes and a sizable vote share in 2019, Gadkari promises to improve Nagpur's infrastructure, exuding confidence in his triumph, the report added.

Gadkari, who recently released 'Vachan Nama' for Nagpur, had previously said, "We plan to open an organic fruits and vegetables and foodgrains market in Nagpur. I am 101 per cent sure of my victory. This time I will win the election with a very good margin. Given the support of the public, their enthusiasm, and the hard work of the party workers, I will try my best to win with a margin of more than 5 lakhs."

Gadkari won a second term after the 2019 polls in which he defeated current Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole with a victory margin of 2,16,009 votes, the report added.

Reportedly, the BJP in UP replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit and instead nominated Jitin Prasada, a former Congressman who will take on Bhagwat Saran Gangwar of the SP and Anis Ahmed Khan of the BSP.

Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is running from the Gaya seat in Bihar which has 14 candidates in the fray for the seat. In Gaya, the BJP is allied with HAM-S, and Manjhi is hopeful about public support, the ANI report added.

He, speaking to ANI said, "Wherever we are going, everyone is raising slogans of 'Abki baar 400 paar'. People themselves are saying that they will vote for PM Modi. We don't see any challenge."

According to the report, Vivek Bunty Sahu of the BJP will be running against former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath, the party hopes to unseat Congress' lone seat in Chhindwara. However, Nath exuded confidence and had earlier said, "I have full faith that the people of Chhindwara will give their love and blessings to me again," Nakul Nath said after filing the nomination papers."

Last but not least, Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress faces off against Topon Kumar Gogoi in Assam's Jorhat, a seat that the BJP has long held. Gaurav, who is a sitting MP from Kaziranga (erstwhile Kaliabor), decided to fight from Jorhat surprising everyone.

The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be concluding on June 1 and the votes will be counted on June 4.