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Journalism of Courage
With 49 seats across 8 states and Union Territories voting in the Lok Sabha polls in the fifth phase on Monday, a total of 428 seats will have completed polling, leaving 115 seats in the remaining two phases. At the end of this phase, Maharashtra will have completed polling with its last 13 seats, including all six in Mumbai, voting.
In 2019, the parties constituting the Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling NDA won six and 34 of these 49 seats. The BJP alone won 32 of these constituencies, with the Congress far behind at 1: its traditional Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. The nine remaining seats were won by regional parties: seven by the undivided Shiv Sena and two by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
In terms of vote share, the parties that constitute NDA received 42.85% of the votes compared to the 28.83% vote share of the INDIA bloc parties (excluding the votes of the Shiv Sena and NCP, both of which were united at the time).
In 2014, the NDA won 29 of these seats and the INDIA bloc parties 10, with 10 going to other parties.
On Monday, 695 candidates are in the fray. The BSP has fielded the most candidates at 46, followed by the BJP (40), and the Congress (18). With the final 13 seats in Maharashtra voting, the state has the most candidates in this phase at 264, followed by 144 in 14 Uttar Pradesh seats and 88 in seven West Bengal constituencies.
Of the 159 candidates facing criminal cases, Maharashtra has the most at 62, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 29, and West Bengal at 21. Nashik in Maharashtra and Chatra in Jharkhand have the most candidates with cases at 10 and 9, respectively. Among the major parties, the BJP has the most candidates with criminal cases at 19, or 48% of all its nominees, followed by the Congress at eight or 44% and the BSP also at eight or 17%.
BJP: 19 (48% of all party candidates)
Congress: 8 (44%)
BSP: 8 (17%)
SP: 5 (50%)
VBA: 4 (40%)
Shiv Sena (UBT): 3 (38%)
TMC: 3 (43%)
Shiv Sena: 3 (50%)
Of the 227 crorepati candidates, Maharashtra has the most at 87, followed by UP at 53, and West Bengal at 20. Among the parties, the BJP has the most crorepati candidates in this phase at 36 or 90% of its candidates, followed by the BSP at 20 or 43% of its candidates and the Congress at 15 or 83%. Five of the 10 richest candidates in the fifth phase are from the BJP, including two of the top three.
Anurag Sharma (BJP), contesting from Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi | Assets: Rs 202.08 crore
Nilesh Bhagwan Sambare (Independent), contesting from Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi | Assets: Rs 116.1 crore
Piyush Goyal (BJP), contesting from Maharashtra’s Mumbai North | Assets: Rs 110.95 crore
Youngest: 5 candidates aged 25, including 3 from minor parties, 1 Independent and one from the SP
Oldest: Zunjar Mhasuji Avhad, 82-year-old Bahujan Republican Socialist Party candidate contesting in Nashik, Maharashtra
MAHARASHTRA
Total seats: 48 (last 13 in Phase 5)
Total electors: 9.14 crore
First-time voters: 12.87 lakh
UTTAR PRADESH
Total seats: 80 (14 in Phase 5)
WEST BENGAL
Total seats: 42 (seven in Phase 5)
BIHAR
Total seats: 39 (five in Phase 5)
Jharkhand: 3 seats (Chatra, Hazaribagh, Kodarma)
Odisha: 5 seats (Aska, Bargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal, Sundargarh)
Jammu and Kashmir: 1 seat (Baramulla)
Ladakh: 1 seat
Baramulla, J&K: Former CM Omar Abdullah (NC) vs People’s Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone vs former Rajya Sabha member Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP) | 2019 winner: NC
Amethi, UP: Union minister and sitting MP Smriti Irani (BJP) vs Gandhi family aide Kishori Lal Sharma (Cong) | 2019 winner: BJP
Rae Bareli, UP: Rahul Gandhi (Cong) vs MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh (BJP) | 2019 winner: Cong
Hooghly, West Bengal: Actor-politician and sitting MP Locket Chatterjee (BJP) vs actor and first-time candidate Rachna Banerjee (TMC) vs Manadip Ghosh (CPM) | 2019 winner: BJP
Mumbai North, Maharashtra: Union minister and Leader of Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal (BJP) vs Congress Mumbai vice president Bhushan Patil | 2019 winner: BJP
