Election campaigning in full swing

Yesterday, the Prime Minister addressed rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti and Shravasti districts. In Basti, the Prime Minister said, the BJP has achieved the target of majority seats in the five phases of elections only and that is why the opposition leaders are losing their cool. The rally was organised for Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Dumariaganj Loksabha constituencies jointly. 

In Shravasti, Mr. Modi came down heavily on the I.N.D.I.A. block, saying that they are not only communal but also castist and promote nepotism. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath campaigned in Jaunpur and Basti districts, while Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Mohan Yadav campaigned in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts.

Addressing a political rally in Azamgarh, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that BJP is going to lose all the 80 seats of UP and they are not going to get more than 140 seats overall.

In the sixth phase, voting will be held in 13 seats of UP.  

Campaigning is in full swing for ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, which will go to poll on Saturday. Top leaders of both Congress and BJP have hit the ground to seek people’s support. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today addressed an election rally in Charkhi Dadri of Mahendragarh-Bhiwani Parliamentary constituency and hit out at the government over the issue of the Agniveer Scheme. He claimed that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc would scrap the scheme if voted to power. He also promised to waive off loans of farmers and bring a law for Minimum Support Price to farmers’ produce. He also raised the issue of price rise.

While addressing a rally in Bhiwani, senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in reference to reported praise of Mr. Gandhi by a prominent leader of Pakistan, asked why the former Congress President is silent and is not rejecting the Pakistani compliment. He also criticised the Congress over the issue of the welfare of ex-servicemen, saying it is the BJP government that brought in One Rank One Pension for them.  

Like other Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, Mahendragarh-Bhiwani is also expected to witness a largely bipolar contest between BJP and Congress. BJP has fielded sitting MP Dharamvir Choudhary from the seat again while Congress has given a ticket to its  MLA  Rao Dan Singh.   Jannayak Janta Party



candidate    Rao Bahadur Singh is trying hard to make the contest triangular on this seat.  In the last Lok Sabha polls, BJP had wiped out Congress in the state, winning all ten Lok Sabha seats.  

This time the BJP is also working hard on the ground to maintain its tally while Congress is putting all its efforts to gain lost ground in the Lok Sabha elections.  The Haryana assembly polls are also scheduled later this year and the result of the Lok Sabha polls is bound to have an impact on the assembly elections in the state. 

In Odisha, campaigning in all the six Lok Sabha and 42 assembly constituencies going for polls in the sixth phase of general elections is in full swing with top leaders of political parties on the campaign trail. Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Lok Sabha constituencies and Assembly seats coming under their purview are going to polls in this phase of elections on the 25th of this month. 

This phase is poised to witness significant electoral battles in key constituencies. Sambalpur sets the stage for a showdown among Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the BJP, BJD organisation general secretary Pranab Prakash Das and former MP Nagendra Pradhan of the Congress. Similarly, Puri Lok Sabha presents a formidable clash mainly between Sambit Patra of the BJP, and former IPS officer Arup Patnaik representing the BJD.

In Bhubaneswar, Yasir Nawaz of Congress is pitted against incumbent MP Aprajita Sarangi of the BJP and Manmath Routray from the BJD.  BJP leader and actor Arun Govil campaigned for party nominees in Champua, Telkoi, Dhenkanal and Jaydev assembly constituencies. Union Minister Giriraj Sigh also addressed public meetings and held roadshows in different areas under the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency and sought a vote for party nominee Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. BJP president JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are scheduled to visit Odisha tomorrow to campaign for the party nominees. 

On the other hand, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his close aide bureaucrat turned politician VK Pandian were seen holding roadshows and addressing public meetings yesterday in different constituencies going for polls in the sixth phase.