A high-pitched election campaign for the fourth phase, which included a two-day blitzkrieg of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, came to an end on Saturday as 71 Lok Sabha seats go to polls on April 29.
Spread over nine States, five constituencies will vote in Bihar, three in Jharkhand, six in Madhya Pradesh, 17 in Maharashtra, six in Odisha, 13 each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and eight in West Bengal. Kulgam district of Anantnag constituency too will go to polls in this phase.
Though the number of seats is far less than the constituencies that went to polls in each of the first three phases, the fourth phase is important in terms of key constituencies that will witness polling.
While Maharashtra will witness the final round of polling in the State, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will vote for the first time. In Madhya Pradesh, politically crucial seats of Chhindwara, where Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son is contesting his maiden election; Sidhi, where the son of late Congress stalwart and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh is fighting; and Jabalpur, where BJP State unit chief Rakesh Singh is seeking re-election, are going to polls.
In Maharashtra, actress Urmila Matondkar and daughters of two late national stalwarts — Pramod Mahajan of the BJP and Sunil Dutt of the Congress are in fray.
In UP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is contesting in the fourth phase.
In West Bengal’s Asansol, singer and sitting MP Babul Supriyo of the BJP will lock horns with Trinamool Congress leader and veteran actress Moon Moon Sen.
In Rajasthan, where voting will happen for the first time, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav is making his political debut against sitting MP and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
In Bihar, campaigning for five constituencies - Darbhanga, Ujjiarpur, Samastipur, Begusarai and Munger - too saw top political leaders including Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addressing rallies in Bihar.
Meanwhile, Friday was the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the sixth phase for which polling will be held on May 12 including that in the national Capital for all the seven Lok Sabha seats. While Monday is the last date for filing nominations for the final seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 19.