From santustikaran (ensuring to satisfaction ) to tustikaran (appeasement ), plotting to send Ram Lalla to tent again and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's retirement age to scrapping of Citizenship Amendment Act, these issues dominated during campaigning for the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha to be held on May 20.
The political fate of Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Chirag Paswan, Piyush Goyal, Rajnath Singh, Omar Abdullah, Ujjwal Nikam, Karan Bhushan Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Rohini Acharya, will be decided in the fifth phase in 49 constituencies spread across eight States and Union Territories.
The voting will begin at 7 am on Monday and conclude at 6 pm. This phase will witness voter participation from 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Maharashtra, seven in West Bengal, five in Bihar, five in Odisha, three in Jharkhand, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Political rhetoric continued during the fifth phase campaigning by both the BJP and the Congress. During the campaign, Modi raised the issue of CAA, Muslim appeasement, Marxists economics and attacked the Congress, accusing it of indulging in "shameful" politics and plotting to send "Ram Lala to tent" again.
Modi said he has resolved to free India from the biggest model of corruption, appeasement and dynastic politics.
Addressing a public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Lalganj ahead of Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, Modi asked, "Koi maai ka laal paida hua hai jo CAA ko khatam kar sakta hai? ("Has anyone been born from a mother who can repeal the CAA?" Jo bhi taakat ikathi karni hai karlo, mai bhi maidan me hun, tum bhi maidan me ho...aap CAA nahi mita paoge (gather all the strength you want, I am here, you are also here. You won't be able to repeal CAA)," Modi challenged INDIA Bloc leaders.
On the other hand, the Congress and other Opposition parties claimed that if the BJP wins 400 seats, they change the Constitution while AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal raised the issue of Modi's retirement age saying Amit Shah will be next Prime Minister in an apparent move to create confusion among the BJP's voters.
The Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh will be one of the most watched seats in the fifth phase of voting, due to the uncertainty over who the Congress will field from the constituency against sitting MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
The Amethi constituency, formed in 1967 during the delimitation of parliamentary seats, encompasses five Assembly segments: Tiloi, Salon, Jagdishpur, Gauriganj, and Amethi.
The Congress party has announced Kishori Lal Sharma as its candidate against the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and current Union Minister for Minority Affairs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Smriti Irani.
Sharma has played a significant role in Congress since 1983 and is instrumental in Sonia's victory in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in 1999.
The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) has named Nanhe Singh Chauhan as their candidate from Amethi. The party hopes that Chauhan will be able to garner the OBC Nonia community votes, which is a significant segment in the constituency. Amethi has historically been a bastion of the Congress party, as it has lost this seat only thrice, in 1977, 1998, and recently in 2019.
Ending weeks of suspense on the last day of filing of nominations for the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency, Congress announced Rahul as its candidate. The decision put to rest rumours that his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be the one to replace their mother Sonia from the party stronghold.
The move to field Rahul from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi - his former bastion - took many by surprise. Meanwhile, the BJP has nominated three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and former Congress member Dinesh Pratap Singh as its Lok Sabha candidate from the constituency.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), contesting all Lok Sabha seats in UP independently in the 2024 general elections, has named Thakur Prasad Yadav as its candidate from Rae Bareli. Yadav, who unsuccessfully contested the UP Vidhan Sabha elections in 2017 and 2022, will make his debut in the lower house of Parliament with this candidacy.
The Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, adjacent to Patna, is one of the State's 40 parliamentary seats and comprises six Assembly segments. Hajipur has been the political bastion of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, who hails from this region.
Paswan's electoral prowess was evident from his remarkable record of victory here, having been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Hajipur an impressive eight times.
In the upcoming elections, Ram Vilas Paswan's son, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan, and Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Shiv Chandra Ram will face stiff competition.
Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, the largest in the country in terms of area, will be privy to the first major electoral contest after it was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir and granted Union Territory status in 2019. Ladakh will vote on May 20.
What was initially touted to be a two-way fight, a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, the parliamentary seat is now a three-corner fight with an alliance of local groups fielding an Independent to challenge the national parties.
Over the last few months, Ladakh witnessed widespread shutdown as thousands participated in marches, advocating for Statehood and constitutional protections under the sixth schedule for the Union Territory. For the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has nominated Tashi Gyalson, the chief executive councillor-cum-chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh), as its candidate for the seat, replacing incumbent Member of Parliament Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
The Congress has put forth Tsering Namgyal as its contender. Adding a twist to the electoral dynamics, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has fielded Haji Haneefa Jan, the Kargil district president of the National Conference (NC).
Historically, the Congress has clinched victory in the Ladakh constituency on six occasions. As per an agreement with the NC, they have nominated Tsering Namgyal, who serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the LAHDC, both of which are constituents of the INDIA Bloc and the Leh Apex Body.
For Karan Bhushan Singh, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be a battle of nerves. The Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh is one of the State's 80 Lok Sabha constituencies. It comprises five Vidhan Sabha seats, including Payagpur, Kaiserganj, Katra Bazar, Colonelganj, and Tarabganj, and is scheduled for polling in the fifth phase on May 20.
Historically, the constituency has witnessed alternating periods of dominance by various parties, with the BJP currently enjoying momentum after winning the last two Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.
According to the Election Commission, 695 candidates are in the fray for the fifth phase of polling. This count emerged after scrutinising 1,586 nomination forms filed for the fifth phase, 749 of which were deemed valid after the May 3 deadline.
The last four phases recorded an approximate voter turnout of around 60 to 69 per cent. The fourth phase of polling held on May 7 in 96 constituencies saw a voter turnout of 69.16 per cent - the highest so far. According to the Election Commission, 69.58 per cent of men voters, 68.73 per cent of women voters, and 34.23 per cent of third-gender individuals exercised their franchise in the previous phase.
