New Delhi: The high-octane campaign for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections that saw the BJP-led NDA and the I.N.D.IA. bloc attacking each other on issues like reservations and sexual harassment charges against JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna concluded on Sunday in 92 seats spread over 11 states and Union Territories.
The stakes are significant for the BJP in this round as the party had in 2019 won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, that will go to polls on May 7.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led the BJP charge, asking the Congress to give in writing that it will not hand over the quota for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes to Muslims. The Congress and its allies accused the BJP of trying to tamper with the Constitution and do away with reservations.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge along with party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra focused on issues of social justice, unemployment, “injustice” to farmers and alleged favourable treatment to select businessmen.
Over 1,300 candidates, including around 120 women, are in the fray. Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra). The fate of former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) and Badruddin Ajmal (Dhubri) will also bedecided on May 7. Several members of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family are also contesting in this phase in Uttar Pradesh.
The Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2 seats) will also go to polls in the third phase while the election in the Anatnag-Rajouri seat has been put off to the sixth phase due to logistic reasons.
In Maharashtra, where 11 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats will go to polls, a riveting contest is on in Baramati between Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, wife of the veteran leader's estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
In Madhya Pradesh, four-time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Congress veteran Digvijay Singh are seeking election from Vidisha, Guna and Rajgarh seats respectively.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday reiterated that the BJP is going to win all the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state. He said, “This time, it will be 11 out of 11 in Chhattisgarh. I can say it confidently based on the feedback received from across the state”.
Meanwhile, in the Congress-ruled Karnataka which changed the campaigning track with the Hassan sex scandal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah exuded confidence in the party’s prospects and said, “In the first phase of the election for 14 constituencies, our information and inputs from local workers indicate a potential win of 8-9 seats. Looking ahead to the second phase on May 7, we anticipate securing more than 10 seats. In total, we are poised to clinch at least 20 seats in the state”.
