A total of 71 Lok Sabha seats, spread across nine states and Union territories, will go to polls in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 29 (Monday).
The fourth phase features far fewer seats than each of the first three phases, but its importance can't be understated: while Maharashtra will witness its final phase of polling, the likes of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will be voting for the first time. All three states had contributed significantly to the BJP's spectacular performance in 2014. In addition, the fourth phase will see the conclusion of both Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Odisha.
In addition to the Lok Sabha polls, the fourth phase will also see assembly bypolls being held in Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) and Nighasan and Krishnaganj (both in Uttar Pradesh).
THE WEEK presents a list of 14 key constituencies to watch out for in the fourth phase.
Begusarai (Bihar): Most seats become prominent if one or more of its frontrunner candidates are popular. However, in Begusarai, the candidate garnering most media attention, Kanhaiya Kumar, is more famous for his deeds as past president of the JNU students union than his electoral prospects. Kanhaiya Kumar, who has been fielded by the CPI, has attracted attention to his crowdfunded campaign that has relied on 'non-political' star campaigners and volunteer support.
The BJP has fielded Union minister of State Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Giriraj Singh, who had won from the Nawada constituency in 2014, had frequently made it to the headlines for his incendiary utterances.
Singh's main rival is Tanveer Hassan of the RJD. Hassan had lost from Begusarai in 2014 to Bhola Singh of the BJP. 2014 was the first time the BJP won from Begusarai. In 2009 and 2004, Begusarai was won by candidates from the JD(U), which was then in an alliance with the BJP.
Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh): The surname 'Nath' has been a fixture in Lok Sabha polls in Chhindwara, figuring on the ballot for the Congress in every election since 1980 and winning all the contests, barring one. Current Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has won from the constituency nine times and is the sitting MP from Chhindwara. In 1996, his wife Alka Kamal Nath, won from Chhindwara. The only time Kamal Nath slipped in his dominance of Chhindwara was when he lost a bypoll from the constituency in 1997, being defeated by BJP's Sunderlal Patwa.
In 2019, Kamal Nath's son, Nakul, is the Congress candidate from Chhindwara for the Lok Sabha polls. His BJP rival is Nathan Shah, a former MLA. Interestingly, Kamal Nath is fighting the assembly bypoll from Chhindwara, making for a unique family political venture.
Since his loss in 1997, Kamal Nath won from Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency in every election till 2014, defeating an array of candidates from the BJP.
Sidhi (Madhya Pradesh): Ajay Singh (also known as Rahul bhaiya) is the Congress candidate from Sidhi. Ajay Singh is the son of late Congress stalwart and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Arjun Singh. Ajay was the leader of the opposition in the previous Madhya Pradesh assembly, but lost in the 2018 election, even as his party returned to power in the state after a break of 15 years. Ajay's performance in Sidhi is being considered as crucial in determining the trajectory of his political future.
Ajay will be facing sitting Sidhi MP Riti Pathak of the BJP. Pathak had won the 2014 election against Indrajeet Kumar of the Congress by a margin of over 1 lakh votes. Kumar was the losing candidate in 2009 also, with Govind Prasad Mishra of the BJP being the winner. Sidhi can be called a BJP stronghold, with the saffron party winning the constituency five times since 1998, with the only loss coming in a bypoll in 2007 when Manik Singh of the Congress secured a narrow victory.
Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh BJP unit chief Rakesh Singh is hoping for a fourth straight victory from Jabalpur from where he has recorded resounding victories over three different Congress candidates since the 2004 election. The BJP has not lost in Jabalpur since the 1996 Lok Sabha election.
Rakesh Singh's rival in 2019 is Vivek Tankha of the Congress. Tankha, a prominent Supreme Court lawyer who represented whistle-blowers in the Vyapam scam, is a Rajya Sabha member. In 2014, he was the Congress candidate against Rakesh Singh and lost by a margin of over 2 lakh votes.
Palghar (Maharashtra): The Palghar constituency came into being in 2008 as a result of delimitation and is reserved for scheduled tribes. Palghar was in the news in March 2018 when the BJP and Shiv Sena contested against each other in the Lok Sabha bypoll there, which was necessitated by the death of then sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanga. While the BJP fielded Rajendra Gavit, a Congress defector, the Shiv Sena fielded Wanga's son Shrinivas. Gavit won the Palghar bypoll.
Gavit is again the candidate of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but this time, he is fighting on a Shiv Sena ticket. Gavit is facing Hitendra Thakur, the president of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), which is backed by the Congress-NCP alliance.
Baliram Sukur Jadhav of the BVA won the first Lok Sabha election in Palghar in 2009, defeating Chintaman Wanga. Jadhav, however, lost to Wanga five years later.
Mumbai North-Central (Maharashtra): Mumbai North-Central constituency will see a clash between the daughters of two late national stalwarts—Pramod Mahajan of BJP and Sunil Dutt of Congress—for the second time in five years.
In 2014, Poonam Mahajan, emerged victorious, defeating Priya Dutt by a margin of over 1.8 lakh votes. Dutt then was the incumbent MP for Mumbai North-Central. She won the 2009 election, defeating lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, who fought on a BJP ticket.
Mumbai North (Maharashtra): For most of the past 30 years, Mumbai North was the citadel of the BJP, or more precisely current Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. Naik won from Mumbai North five straight times till 2004, when he was defeated by Bollywood star Govinda, who fought on a Congress ticket. Naik again contested from the constituency in 2009, only to lose to Sanjay Nirupam of the Congress.
In 2014, the BJP fielded Gopal Chinnaya Shetty from Mumbai North. Shetty trounced Nirupam by a margin of 4.4 lakh votes in the 2014 polls. This time, Shetty has been renominated to the Mumbai North constituency. He will be facing actress-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar, who was a surprise pick by the Congress and whose campaign has drawn much attention.
Mumbai South (Maharashtra): Mumbai South constituency has been in the limelight not just because it is at the heart of India's financial hub, but because Congress candidate Milind Deora has run a high-profile campaign to retake a constituency he won in 2004 and 2009.
Deora's rival in 2019 is Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena. Sawant had defeated Deora, a former Union minister, by a margin of over 1.2 lakh votes in 2014.
Etawah (Uttar Pradesh): The Congress has fielded sitting MP Ashok Kumar Doharey in Etawah. Doharey switched to the Congress from the BJP in March. The BJP has fielded Ram Shankar Katheria, who is the incumbent MP of Agra. SP leader Kamlesh Katheria is the candidate of the SP-BSP grand alliance.
Etawah seat is reserved for candidates belonging to the scheduled caste (SC) category. The constituency was represented by the Samajwadi Party for 15 years from 1999 to 2014 when Doharey won the seat for the BJP during the Modi wave. Doharey secured 4.39 lakh votes (46.79 per cent) while SP's Premdas received 2.66 lakh votes.
Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party leader and Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav is the candidate of the grand alliance in Kannauj while the BJP has fielded Subrat Pathak. Yadav is the sitting MP for Kannauj. Notwithstanding being an SP bastion traditionally, Kannauj is not expected to give Dimple a walkover this time.
Dimple got elected unopposed in 2012 when her husband Akhilesh Yadav vacated the seat after becoming the chief minister. However, in 2014, she won the seat with a narrow margin. The BJP has been accusing Dimple of being inaccessible to the people of Kannauj. She, however, is riding on the hope of her party's alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Asansol (West Bengal): It's a star war in Asansol, West Bengal's second-largest city, as singer and sitting MP Babul Supriyo of the BJP will lock horns with Trinamool Congress leader and veteran actress Moon Moon Sen. Moon Moon Sen is the sitting MP from Bankura.
Traditionally a bastion of the CPI(M), Asansol switched to the BJP in 2014 when the saffron party won the seat with 37 per cent votes. The left party's vote share dropped to 22 per cent while the Trinamool bagged 30 per cent votes. In the last state elections, Trinamool won five of the seven assembly segments in Asansol, while the remaining two went to the CPI(M).
Krishnanagar (West Bengal): It's a direct fight between Trinamool Congress MLA and party spokesperson Mahua Moitra and Santanu Jha of the CPI(M) in Krishnanagar. Congress's Intaj Ali Shah, BJP's Kalyan Chowbey and BSP's Uddhab Roy are other major contenders for the seat.
Krishnanagar Lok Sabha has historically been a Left stronghold. However, in 2014, Tapas Paul of the Trinamool Congress defeated Santanu Jha of the CPI(M) by 71,255 votes.
Mahua Moitra, a former investment banker, is currently the MLA from the Karimpur Vidhan Sabha constituency.
Jodhpur (Rajasthan): Jodhpur constituency has made headlines as it is the battleground for what is, effectively, a clash between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gehlot has devoted much attention to the campaign in Jodhpur, as his son, Vaibhav, is making his political debut from the constituency. Ashok Gehlot had won from Jodhpur on a Congress ticket a total of five times from 1980 to 1998; however since 1999, the BJP has won the constituency in three of the four Lok Sabha polls.
In 2019, Vaibhav is facing sitting MP and Union minister of state for agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Shekhawat is considered to be a favourite of Modi and the larger RSS parivar.
In 2014, Shekhawat won the Lok Sabha election from Jodhpur, winning over 4 lakh votes more than his Congress rival Chandresh Kumari Katoch. Katoch had won the constituency in 2009, defeating then incumbent BJP MP Jaswant Singh Bishnoi.
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Barmer (Rajasthan): Manvendra Singh, son of former BJP titan Jaswant Singh, first contested a Lok Sabha election from Barmer in 1999 on a saffron party ticket. Manvendra lost in 1999 to Sona Ram Chaudhary, a prominent Jat leader, of the Congress, but won from Barmer in 2004, defeating Sona Ram. Manvendra lost from Barmer in 2009, again. Nine years later, Manvendra left the BJP. In 2014, Sona Ram, who by then joined the BJP, defeated his nearest rival Jaswant, who was contesting as an independent.
Manvendra is now the Congress candidate from Barmer. This time, the BJP has nominated Kailash Choudhary, another Jat leader.