Lok Sabha Elections 2019: 10 candidates to watch out for in the fourth phase of LS polls

Political parties will continue with their high-octave electioneering across the country. The fourth phase of the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 29. The Lok Sabha elections’ fourth phase will take place across 71 parliamentary constituencies in nine states. Voting will take place in some seats of Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

So here’s a list of top 10 candidates to watch out for in fourth phase:

1. Kirti Azad – Congress has fielded former BJP leader Kirti Azad from Dhanbad Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand. Mr Azad, a former BJP MP from Dharbhanga in Bihar had to shift out after the seat was given to the RJD as part of the seat sharing arrangement for the alliance in the state.
2. Rajan Vichare – Shiv Sena has pitted him from Thane constituency. He is sitting MP from Thane. He has also previously been a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2009-14.
3. Parth Pawar – Parth is contesting against MP Shrirang Barne of the Shiv Sena from Maval Lok Sabha constituency. Parth Pawar is the grandnephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and son of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. Parth is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Maval constituency.
4. Amol Kolhe – NCP has fielded actor Amol Kolhe to take on three-time sitting MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil of the Shiv Sena in Shirur.
5. Dimple Yadav – Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav is contesting again from the constituency. After Mulayam Singh Yadav vacated the seat, his son Akhilesh Yadav won the seat in 2000, going on to hold it till 2012. After he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, his wife Dimple Yadav has held the seat in the Lok Sabha.
6. Sakshi Maharaj – BJP has fielded him from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. In Unnao, Maharaj is up against Samajwadi Party’s Arun Shankar Shuklaa, also known as Anna Maharaj, and Congress candidate Annu Tandon, a former MP from the seat. Maharaj has 34 cases against him, ranging from promoting enmity, four cases related to criminal intimidation, robbery, dacoity, murder, forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust.
7. Kanhaiya Kumar – Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded Kanhaiya from Begusarai constituency in Bihar. Kanhaiya Kumar became an overnight symbol of JNU students’ freedom of speech movement after he was arrested over an event he organised to mark the hanging of 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Kanhaiya Kumar was accused of chanting anti-India slogans at the event, which was organised on the JNU campus in 2016.
8. Nakul Nath – Nakul is the Congress candidate from Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency. He is son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Kamal Nath had represented Chhindwara almost continuously in Parliament for nearly 40 years until he took over as Madhya Pradesh chief minister in December.
9. Babul Supriyo – BJP has fielded singer Babul Supriyo from Asansol in West Bengal. Union Minister and BJP’s singer-turned-politician is the sitting MP there. Asansol is seen as BJP’s launch pad in the state this time as it was one of the only two constituencies it had managed to win in 2014.
10. Rajendra Gavit – BJP has fielded Gavit from Palghar Lok Sabha constituency. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Chintaman Vanaga of the Bharatiya Janata Party won this constituency. After his sudden demise, the Bharatiya Janata Party gave the ticket to Rajendra Gavit for by-elections. Gavit, a former Congressman, won the by-poll while the Congress candidate Damodar Shingda lost his security deposit as he failed to secure the minimum 6% of total votes polled.