These 9 seats are where the election thriller is

It's just four days to go for the start of the 45-day-long Lok Sabha 2024 elections. However, some people are finding a lull in the usually electrifying general elections in India. A wide range of reasons have been cited for this. From the lack of Opposition's barrage against the BJP in making the election interesting to a "lack of enthusiasm in the people". The election fever is likely to grip the country as we move ahead. However, there are some very interesting and close battles coming up in the first two phases of the polls.

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There are at least nine seats that are battleground seats going to the polls in the first two phases for which votes will be cast on April 19 and April 26. These battles are going to be nail-biters.

Close to the first day of casting of votes, several people have complained of the unusual lull on social media.

While one lamented, "It is an unbelievably boring election so far," another observer took to X, saying, "This is the most boring election. 2014 was lit. 2019 was a bigger lit. Now it is a boredom fest."

"This is an election that no one wants to fight, vote in or go through. BJP is taking things for granted, the opposition has given up, and people are completely unenthusiastic about elections," said another person on X.

While it may seem to some that it's all dull in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, zooming into individual constituencies around India shows that the elections are as interesting as ever.

As the world's largest democratic exercise, spanning over a month in seven phases, is yet to commence, intense campaigns, crowded rallies, and charged political fist-fights from several pockets of India ensure it to be an interesting watch.

Let us have a look at which constituencies have turned into hot seats for the first two phases that go to polls on April 19 (phase 1) and April 26 (phase 2).

This is just nine seats and isn't meant to be an exhaustive list. However, this will show how the election is actually pulsating.

WILL CHURU REMAIN BJP'S STRONGHOLD?

State: Rajasthan, April 19 (Phase 1)

Key candidates: Devendra Jhajharia (BJP), Rahul Kaswan (Congress)

The BJP stronghold of Churu, in northern Rajasthan, is ready for an interesting match up, primarily between BJP candidate Devendra Jhajharia, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist javelin thrower, and Rahul Kaswan from the Congress.

Rahul Kaswan is actually a turncoat who has made the fight for Churu interesting.

Kaswan, the Congress candidate, jumped over from the BJP to the Congress only in March after the two-time MP from Churu was denied a ticket by the BJP.

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Kaswan won the seat, known as the gateway to the Thar, by margins of around three lakh votes in 2015 bye-election and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul Kaswan, a Jat leader, is expected to spoil the prospects of the Paralympian in the upcoming poll, where the community is almost one-third of the 2.2 million electorate. The Jat community had been unhappy with the BJP over the now-withdrawn farm bills and the wrestler's protests.

It remains to be seen if PM Modi's slogan, "Narendra ke Devendra," will help the BJP candidate sail through or if the seat will also jump over to the Congress, like Kaswan did.

CAN INDEPENDENT AZAD SWEEP UP'S NAGINA?

State: Uttar Pradesh, April 19 (Phase 1)

Key candidates: Chandra Shekhar Azad ASP(KR), Surendra Pal Singh (BSP), Manoj Kumar (SP), Om Kumar (BJP)

The contest in Nagina is a four-cornered one, with Azad Samaj Party's (Kanshi Ram) Chandra Shekhar Azad entering the fray. Azad is a popular Dalit leader who also refers to himself as Ravan.

Nagina, an SC-reserved seat, has not seen a party retain it since the 2009 polls. Scheduled Caste members form 20% of Nagina's population while Muslims 43%.

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The entry of Bhim Army chief and Azad Samaj Party leader Chandrashekhar Aazad has added a new dimension to the contest, as he is banking on his popularity amongst Dalit voters, especially youngsters. He is also being backed by Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party president Swami Prasad Maurya.

Thus, the seat which has witnessed victories with margins less than a lakh will be an interesting one to watch in the already fragmented electorate.

IT'S A GOGOI VS GOGOI BATTLE IN JORHAT

State: Assam, April 19 (Phase 1)

Key candidates: Gaurav Gogoi (Congress) and Topon Kumar Gogoi (BJP)

Traditionally a stronghold of the Congress and once held by former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Jorhat was wrested from the party by the BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi in 2019.

What makes the Jorhat battle interesting is that Congress's prominent Lok Sabha face, Gaurav Gogoi, has shifted there.

Gogoi's shift to Jorhat came after the impact of delimitisation exercise on his 2019 constituency, Kaliabor. Gaurav looks to tap into the legacy of his father, Tarun Gogoi, in the battle for Jorhat.

What makes the Jorhat battle even more interesting is the BJP's focus and celebration of the Ahom pride and the switching over of the 2019 Congress candidate, Sushanta Borgohain, to the saffron party.

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This battle will decide if one of Congress's most vocal parliamentarians gets elected to the Lok Sabha.

COIMBATORE, A BASE FOR BJP's SOUTH PUSH

State: Tamil Nadu, April 19 (Phase 1)

Key candidates: Ganapathi P. Rajkumar (DMK), K Annamalai (BJP), Singai G Ramachandran (AIADMK)

In the BJPs 'South-push', it has identified the Coimbatore seat as a strategic one by fielding K Annamalai, its young and dynamic state president, against former Coimbatore Mayor Ganapathi Rajkumar of the DMK.

The BJP's decision to field Annamalai prompted the DMK to put up a candidate after 10 years, which would otherwise be left to the Left parties, owing to the cluster of textile industries and its proximity to Kerala.

In fact, the textile industry is what makes Coimbatore a hope for the BJP.

The BJP is eyeing the non-Tamil population in Coimbatore, owing to the presence of labourers and the families of mills and factory workers, who have settled down in the 'Manchester of the South'.

The seat is more so important to the BJP as it was one of the party's earliest Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Following the 1998 serial blasts in the city, the BJP's C P Radhakrishnan had won the seat twice in the past, in 1998 and 1999. Actually, Coimbatore is one of the seats in Tamil Nadu which the BJP is eyeing, along with Kanyakumari.

BJP NOT READY TO GIVE RAHUL A WALKOVER IN WAYANAD

State: Kerala, April 26 (Phase 2)

Key candidates: Annie Raja (CPI), K Surendran (BJP), Rahul Gandhi (Congress)

The hilly Wayanad seat of Kerala, seen as a safe bet for the Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, might not be that safe after all. The seat which he won by a margin of 4.3 lakh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, this time would face the Communist Party's Annie Raja and the BJP's Kerala chief K Surendran, among others.

Wayanad, the minority-dominated seat, comprising 32% Muslims and 13% Christians, was slated to be a 'INDIA vs INDIA' fight, but the BJPs renewed South push has turned it into a three-cornered contest.

The BJP isn't giving Rahul Gandhi a walkover in Wayanad, with leaders like Smriti Irani campaigning for K Surendran.

PAPPU YADAV MAKES PURNIA A THREE-CORNERED FIGHT

Seat: Purnia (Bihar), April 26 (Phase 2)

Key candidates: Pappu Yadav (Independent), Bima Bharti (RJD), Santosh Kumar Kushwaha JD(U)

Purnia in Bihar's Seemanchal, otherwise a politically quiet constituency, is now one of India's hottest seats.

The incumbent JD(U) MP Santosh Kumar Kushwaha, a two-time MP, will be facing the Rashtriya Janta Dal's Bima Bharti of the INDIA bloc. However, Bima Bharti from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) is the least of her problems as Rajesh Ranjan (alias Pappu Yadav) has made a grand entry into the fray with a lot of noise.

Pappu Yadav, a former Purnia MP from the 1990s, is back in the poll fray after almost 20 years. After being denied an INDIA bloc ticket, both by the RJD and the Congress, Yadav filed his nomination as an Independent.

The seat with around 40% Muslims and 23% EBCs, will also see a three-way contest, which now looks to be going against the prospects of Santosh Kushwaha, who is facing a wave of anti-incumbancy for several unfulfilled promises in the deprived seat of Bihar.

WILL THIRUVANANTHAPURAM OUST THAROOR?

State: Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), April 26 (Phase 2)

Key candidates: Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP), Pannyan Raveendran (CPI)

A state where CPI (M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF are natural contenders, the BJP has thrown in a triangular contest.

Shahsi Tharoor -- the sitting MP from Thiruvananthapuram -- is burdened with a negative report card and is being challenged by tech-savvy Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

CPI has also fielded veteran leader Pannyan Raveendran from Thiruvananthapuram, which he last won in the 2005 bye elections.

An urban seat with a favourable demography and 66% Hindu population, could help the BJP's candidate increase his prospects against Shashai Tharoor, who in his last three terms, won the seat by less than a lakh margin.

The Thiruvananthapuram seat has seen the BJP mark its presence since 1989, and could give the Safron party a real chance at winning its first ever Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.

However, the performance of CPI's Pannyan Raveendran could be a decider, say experts.

A YOUTH LEADER SPICES UP BARMER-JAISALMER FIGHT

State: Barmer-Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), April 26 (Phase 2)

Key candidates: Kailash Choudhary (BJP), Umeda Ram Beniwal (Congress), Ravindra Singh Bhati (Independent)

The Western Barmer-Jaisalmer seat is seeing something unprecedented. Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati is drawing bigger crowds than his Congress and BJP opponents, while the sitting MP and BJP candidate Kailash Choudhary is urging people "not to punish Modi" because of him.

Ravindra Singh Bhati, a Rajput, is all of 26 but has become a mass leader.

Such is Bhati's appeal that he won the Sheo seat, an Assembly within the Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha constituency, in the recently held Rajasthan polls as an Independent.

The former students' leader has made the Barmer-Jaisalmer contest three-cornered after being denied a BJP ticket.

The BJP's Kailash Choudhary, a Union minister, is facing the heat after failing to develop road infrastructure and improving drinking water facilities.

Amongst the 20 lakh electorate of Barmer-Jaisalmer constituency, around 19% are Jats and 12% are Rajputs, who can be the deciding factor.

CAN BJP BREAK THRISSUR JINX?

State: Thrissur (Kerala), April 26 (Phase 2)

Key Candidates: Suresh Gopi (BJP), K Muraleedharan (Congress), V S Sunil Kumar (CPI)

Thrissur, alternatively held by the left and the Congress since the first general elections in 1952, is at the BJP's focus in these elections, with PM Modi visiting the temple town multiple times.

The BJP aims to break the jinx of it losing the seat and coming third in every Lok Sabha since 1996, with "Operation Thrissur", and has therefore fielded actor-politician Suresh Gopi to take on both the LDF and the UDF.

However, the presence of high-profile candidates from the UDF and LDF, including K Muraleedharan and VS Sunil Kumar, adds to the intensity of the contest in the seat, which has seen alternate outcomes between the Congress and the Left.

These are just nine of the seats in the first two phases that we need to watch out for the close contest that they are throwing up. There are several other seats and these are what make the Lok Sabha 2024 election all the more interesting.

Published By: Sushim Mukul Published On: Apr 15, 2024