Today in Politics: PM Modi to kick off Himachal campaign, step up Punjab bid in push for Phase 7

Kharge, Shah set to campaign in Jharkhand, Bihar; Mayawati to hold rally in Punjab

PM Modi will hold two public meetings in Shimla and Mandi in Himachal. He will then proceed to address two rallies in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar in Punjab. (PTI)

As the campaigning for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for May 25, drew to a close Thursday, the leaders across parties have shifted their focus to the seats going to polls in the seventh and final phase on June 1.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch his campaign in the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. Later in the day, he will also resume his electioneering in the AAP-ruled Punjab.

PM Modi will hold two public meetings in Shimla and Mandi in Himachal. He will then proceed to address two rallies in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar in Punjab.

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The BJP has fielded Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut from the Mandi seat, who is pitted against Congress candidate and minister Vikramaditya Singh. The BJP has renominated its sitting MP Suresh Kumar Kashyap from the Shimla constituency.

In Gurdaspur, the party has replaced sitting MP Sunny Deol with Dinesh Singh, while in Jalandhar it has fielded Sushil Kumar Rinku.

All four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal and 13 in Punjab are going to polls in the seventh phase. In Himachal, six Assembly bypolls will also be held on June 1.

Shah, Kharge in Jharkhand

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will be in Godda of Jharkhand on Friday. In the Godda parliamentary constituency, the sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is taking on the Congress’s Pradeep Yadav.

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On Friday morning, Shah will address a public meeting in the Arrah Lok Sabha seat in support of BJP candidate and Union minister R K Singh.

Shah will then head to Jharkhand, where he will address a meeting in Dumka before holding a rally in Godda.

Kharge, on the other hand, will first address a press conference in Deoghar, which falls under the Godda constituency, following which he will address a public meeting there.

Mayawati in Punjab

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati will hold a rally at Nawanshahr in Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency on Friday. The constituency, according to the 2011 Census, has a significant – over 30% – population of Dalits. Nawashahr is one of the four districts falling in the Doaba region of the state, which has the highest Dalit population in the country.

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While the Anandpur Sahib seat is not SC-reserved, the adjoining constituencies like Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur are reserved seats.

The BSP cadres from across the state are expected to attend Mayawati’s rally. The BSP has fielded its candidates in all 13 seats of the state, which are going to polls on June 1.

In the 2019 elections, the party had contested three seats in alliance with the Left and other smaller parties and secured a vote share of just over 3%.

– With PTI inputs

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