Ashok Kumar Tandon
After both the major parties BJP and Congress released their respective manifestos for the Lok Sabha elections, it can be seen that the campaign has really started to take off. Regional parties are also contesting elections vigorously. Both the NDA and the India Alliance have regional parties, and smaller parties have also been given seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA has resolved to win more than four hundred seats this time. Modi's charismatic leadership is the NDA's greatest strength. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country, managed to win three consecutive general elections. Narendra Modi is ready to perform the same. Against this backdrop, it appears that the Opposition has run a purely negative campaign. Modi Hatao has become his only program. His negative campaign is depressing voters.
The results of the 18th Lok Sabha will be announced on June 4 after voting in seven phases for 543 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Voting will be held for 102 seats in the first phase, 89 seats in the second phase, 94 seats in the third phase, 96 seats in the fourth phase, 49 seats in the fifth phase, 57 seats in the sixth phase, and 57 seats in the seventh phase. This phase also includes Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting elections.
Among the 102 seats in the first phase, 5 out of 48 in Maharashtra, 12 out of 25 in Rajasthan, all 39 in Tamil Nadu, 1 in Puducherry, 8 out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh, all 5 in Uttarakhand, 3 out of 42 in West Bengal, 1 out of 5 in Jammu and Kashmir, 5 out of 14 in Assam, Bihar 4 out of 40 constituencies, 1 out of 11 in Chhattisgarh, 6 out of 29 in Madhya Pradesh, 2 in Arunachal Pradesh, 1 out of 2 in Tripura, 1 each in Manipur and Meghalaya, and one in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will be polled in seven phases due to their huge size. The Central Election Commission has made all possible preparations for this.
Exciting fights
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is all set to score a hat-trick of victories from his traditional constituency Nagpur this time. Congress candidate and sitting MLA Vikas Thackeray has entered the fray against him. Nagpur constituency is considered as BJP's stronghold. Gadkari had resoundingly won from there in 2014 and subsequently in 2019. It is being predicted that he will win this time too on the strength of two main factors – efficient ministers in the Modi government and personal popularity. Another such eye-catching contest in Maharashtra is taking place in Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency. A six-time MLA from there and sitting Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is contesting Lok Sabha elections for the first time. Pratibha Dhanorkar, the sitting MLA of Varora, has challenged him. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Pratibha's husband Balu Dhanorkar won this seat by defeating BJP's Hansraj Ahir.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is hoping to win a fourth term from Rajasthan's Bikaner. Congress has fielded Govind Ram Meghwal against him. It is predicted that this fight will be tough. Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh has been nominated. In the very first election, he defeated a key leader like Ghulam Nabi Azad. Another time he showed Vikramaditya Singh the sky. Vikramaditya is Dr. from the royal family of Kashmir. Long live Karan Singh. Due to the victories in both these elections, Dr. Jitendra Singh is known as Giant Killer. This time they are all set for a winning hat-trick. Lok Jan Shakti Party's Chirag Paswan has also entered the fray from the Jamui constituency in Bihar, and he is the life partner of the late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Former Congress Chief Minister Kamal Nath's Chiranjeev Nakul Nath is in the field from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara. This was the only seat Congress had won from Madhya Pradesh in the last election.
BJP has rejected Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit and given a chance to Jatin Prasad instead. He is a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. If we think about South India, in Tamil Nadu BJP state president K. A. Annamalai is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Coimbatore constituency for the first time. The party has exerted all its strength for their victory.
