New Delhi: With 1,600 candidates in fray across 95 seats, the battle ground is set for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections as 16 crore people will register their vote today. A former prime minister, four union ministers and several high-profile personalities are fielded in the high-stake contest.
Here are some of the high-voltage battlesFight for Fatehpur Sikri Seat
Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur Sikri is up for a triangular contest between Congress’s Raj Babbar, BJP's Rajkumar Chahar and BSP's Shreebhagwan Sharma. The Congress in this western UP seat seems to be placed strongly. Fatehpur has a huge number of Brahmin and Thakur voters (roughly 6 lakh) and tends to witness reverse polarisation against the 2.25 lakh Jat voters. In an attempt to cut down anti-incumbency and infighting, the BJP has replaced Babulal with another Jat face, Rajkumar Chahar.
Chahar’s hopes to tap into the 2.25 lakh Jat vote base is challenged by his opponent and gathbandhan candidate Shreebhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit.
Pandit, who till recently was a member of the Samajwadi Party (SP), and won the Debai assembly seat in Bulandshahr, has the disadvantage of being an 'outsider'. Another stumbling block for him, as far as public perception is concerned, is his penchant for abusing leaders from other parties publicly.Outsider vs Brijwasi in Mathura
In the temple-town constituency of Mathura, Bollywood star of yesteryears Hema Malini is seeking re-election on BJP ticket after winning the seat in the 2014 general elections. Malini had defeated RLD’s sitting MP Jayant Chaudhary by a thumping margin of 3,30,743
The other candidates in the fray are Kunwar Narendra Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Mahesh Pathak of the Congress.Kanimozhi vs Tamilisai Soundararajan
In Tamil Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi, state BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan is pitted against DMK's Rajya Sabha MP and party chief MK Stalin's sister Kanimozhi. High drama unfolded in Thoothukudi on Tuesday when officials of the Income-Tax Department and a static surveillance team of the Election Commission on carried out a search at Kanimozhi’s residence. Pon Radhakrishnan vs H Vasanthakumar
In Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari, a keen contest is expected between BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan and H Vasanthakumar of the Congress. Kanyakumari was the sole seat in Tamil Nadu which the BJo secured in 2014 general elections. Radhakrishnan. Karti Chidambaram vs H Raja
Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga seat will witness another keen battle between P Chidambaram's son, Karti Chidambaram and BJP’s candidate H Raja. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has fielded 'Kavignar' Snehan here. The members of the Tamil Nadu Congress unit were disgruntled over Karti’s candidature as he is facing a trial in corruption cases. P Chidambaram was a seven-time MP from Sivangana before the AIADMK swept it in 2014. Sadananda Gowda vs Krishna Byre Gowda
From the North Bengaluru seat of Karnataka, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda was expected to take up candidature as part of the Congress-JDS pact. However, he took up the Tumkuru seat and North Bengaluru was given to Congress’s Krishna Byre Gowda. He is fielded against union minister and chief minister Sadananda Gowda.Nikhil Kumaraswamy vs Sumalatha Ambareesh
Another keen contest is expected in Karnataka’s Mandya where the Congress-JDS coalition fielded Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor Ambareesh, is fielded against Nikhil. She has the official backing from the BJP. Tejasvi Surya vs BK Hariprasad
BJP fielded young Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South seat. It was speculated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be picking Bangalore South as his second seat. Surya is pitted against Congress leader BK Hariprasad. Bangalore South was previously held by Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who died last year.
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