The campaigning for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections which will see voting in 96 constituencies, ended on Saturday. Total 1,717 candidates across 10 States/UTs are in the fray.
According to the Election Commission of India, a total of 4,264 nominations were filed for 96 parliamentary constituencies across. The last date for filing nominations for phase 4 for all 10 States/UTs was April 25, 2024.
Key Constituencies in Phase 4
Andhra Pradesh will witness polling for the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and 175 assembly seats simultaneously on May 13.
Apart from that all the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana are slated for polls in the fourth phase. Five seats from Bihar, Srinagar from Jammu and Kashmir, four in Jharkhand, eight in Madhya Pradesh, eleven in Maharashtra, four in Odisha, thirteen in UP and eight in West Bengal will also see contestation in the fourth phase.
Prominent candidates
The prominent candidates in the fray include, Mahua Moitra from Krishnanagar, Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lallan Singh) from Munger, Giriraj Singh from Begusarai, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Yusuf Pathan from Bahrampur, Madhavi Latha and Asaduddin Owaisi from hyderabad, Shatrughan Sinha and Surinderjeet Singh Ahluwalia from Asansol, Akhilesh Yadav from Kannauj, Arjun Munda from Khunti, YS Sharmila from Kadapa.
In Andhra Pradesh, there is a triangular fight between the Congress, YSRCP and NDA, which includes BJP, TDP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party. In 2019, YSRCP sweeped 22 out of 25 seats while the TDP managed to win only 3, leaving Congress and BJP’s total at zero.
Moreover in Telangana, the triangular contest is between the Congress, the BJP and BRS.In 2019 elections, BRS won 9 seats, while the BJP won 4 seats. Congress won 3 and the remaining Hyderabad was once again won by AIMIM chief Assaduddin Owaisi.
Political strife in fourth phase
The campaigning in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections saw major political altercation from all sides.
PM Modi, while addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar, took a dig at Lalu Prasad Yadav saying a "fodder scam accused" leader who is out on bail is advocating reservation for Muslims. He was also accused of trying to snatch the reservation from SCs, STs and OBCs.
Meanwhile, the opposition’s claim of PM Modi likely to change the Constitution after 2024 win with ‘400 paar’ kept soaring in I.N.D.I.A bloc rallies.
Just a day before the announcement of the end of campaign, the biggest political development happened in the form of interim bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. After getting released, he again charged PM Modi of ruling as a dictator and claimed that BJP will not form government after June 4.
Meanwhile, a strife was witnessed between the Congress Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Election Commission after the former wrote a letter raising doubt about the delay in release of voter turnout for earlier phases. The EC castigated him calling his allegations as “baseless”. EC stated that such remarks demotivate the electoral body and could have a negative impact on the voters.
On the last day, PM Modi held a road show in Jharkhand and visited Odisha. On the other hand, Amit Shah held a public rally and press conference in Telangana. He then visited Varanasi and attended the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat.
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