Polling kicks off for fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections
Voting for the fourth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to elect 96 MPs began at 7:00am on Monday. In this phase, all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 constituencies in Telangana are going to the polls. Polling is also underway for 13 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, eight in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand and Odisha, and one in Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar).
First general elections in J&K since 2019
The election in Srinagar marks the first parliamentary election in J&K since the region's special status was removed in August 2019. The two biggest mainstream parties in the region—the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party—have fielded Aga Syed and Waheed Parra, respectively, as their candidates. Aside from Srinagar, other key constituencies to watch out for are Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh; Vijayawada and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh; Indore in Madhya Pradesh; and Pune and Aurangabad in Maharashtra, among others.
Key candidates in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections
In Kannauj, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Akhilesh Yadav, while in West Bengal's Krishnanagar, the Trinamool Congress has fielded Mahua Moitra. Former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan is contesting from Baharampur, West Bengal, against senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary. Union Minister Giriraj Singh will be contesting from Bihar's Begusarai, while YS Sharmila will fight from Andhra's Kadapa on a Congress ticket. A total of 1,717 candidates are in the fray in the fourth phase.
Actor-Politicians and Union Ministers in the fray
Actor-politicians Shatrughan Sinha and Madhavi Latha are also contesting from West Bengal's Asansol and Telangana's Hyderabad, respectively. Arjun Munda, Union Minister and ex-Chief Minister of Jharkhand, will contest from the Khunti constituency. The BJP's Bandi Sanjay Kumar is also in the race, contesting from Karimnagar, Telangana. In Hyderabad, four-time MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi is being challenged by the BJP's Maadhavi Latha.
Assembly elections being held in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
In addition to the polling for 96 parliamentary constituencies across 10 states and UTs, assembly elections for all 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 seats in Odisha are being held simultaneously. The result for both the Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be announced on June 4. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will kick off on May 20, the sixth on May 25 and the seventh on June 1.
