A total of 695 candidates will contest elections in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 49 constituencies across eight states on May 20.
The fifth phase brings forth a roster of significant candidates vying for electoral victory. The eight States/UTs which go to polls tomorrow are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
The candidate list includes high-profile names like Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is also among the candidates in the fifth phase.
Meanwhile, some of the key constituencies in the fifth phase of elections are Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Fatehpur, Faizabad and Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, Nashik, Palghar, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North and Mumbai South in Maharashtra, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Howrah and Hooghly in West Bengal, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Hajipur in Bihar, Sundargarh, Bolangir and Kandhamal in Odisha, Kodarma and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir.
Let's take a look into some key contenders in this phase:
Uttar Pradesh
1. Amethi: Smriti Irani (BJP) and Kishori Lal Sharma (Congress)
2. Rae Bareli: Rahul Gandhi (Congress)
3. Lucknow: Rajnath Singh (BJP)
4. Kaiserganj: Karan Bhushan Singh (BJP)
Bihar
1. Hajipur: Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party- Ramvilas)
2. Saran: Rohini Acharya (RJD) and Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP)
3. Muzaffarpur: Raj Bhushan Choudhary (BJP)
Maharashtra
1. Mumbai North: Piyush Goyal (BJP)
2. Mumbai North-West: Ravindra Dattaram Waikar (Shiv Sena)
3. Mumbai South: Arvind Sawant
4. Mumbai North-Central: Ujjwal Nikam (BJP) and Varsha Gaikwad (Congress)
5. Kalyan: Dr Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena)
Jammu and Kashmir
Baramulla: Omar Abdullah (JK National Conference)
Jharkhand
Chatra: Krishna Nand Tripathi (Congress)
West Bengal
Barrackpore: Arjun Singh (BJP) and Partha Bhowmick (TMC)
Howrah: Rathin Chakraborty (BJP) and Prasun Banerjee (TMC)
