Campaigning picks up for second phase of LS polls

NEW DELHI: As the dust settled after completion of the polling in the 102 Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase on April 19, campaigning intensified for the second phase of polling in 88 parliamentary seats in 12 states that is all set to take place on April 26.

In Manipur, the remaining part of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency will also go to polls on April 26 along with 20 seats in Kerala, 14 seats in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan and eight seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Other states included in the second phase are seven seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar and three seats each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh and one seat each in Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.

Star campaigners and senior leaders of various political parties are criss-crossing the 12 poll-bound States on Saturday for the second phase and addressing rallies to put forth their views. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, star campaigner of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) addressed election rallies in Nanded and Parbhani in Maharashtra. PM Modi said the next 25 years will be years of India’s greatness in the world. He asserted his commitment to turn India into the third-largest economy of the world. Later in the day, he will also hold poll meetings in Karnataka.

Congress leader and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is campaigning in Mysore and Mandya constituencies while deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar is also addressing meetings in Mandya. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed an election rally in Bhagalpur in Bihar. He said if the India bloc government comes to power, it will scrap the Agniveer scheme in armed forces.

As many as 1,206 candidates from 12 States will be contesting in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls slated for April 26, according to the Election Commission press release. These include four candidates from Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency. A total of 2633 nominations were filed for 88 seats, the poll body said.

Some of the key constituencies in the second phase of polling in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha are Mathura from where BJP’s “dream girl” Hema Malini is seeking re-election and the crucial seats in Western belt of U.P. which include Baghpat, stronghold of former Prime Minister Charan Singh whose grandson Jayant Chaudhary has joined the NDA bandwagon, and Meerut from where PM Modi began 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign and Aligarh and Ghaziabad.