LUCKNOW: As the countdown begins for the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh on May 13, the BJP faces the challenge of retaining all the 13 seats it had won in 2019, while the opposition is struggling to wrest, at least, some of the seats from ruling party.
Polling in the fourth phase is scheduled to be held in Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Dhaurhara, Sitapur, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur and Bahraich.
In 2019, the BJP won all seats in Avadh and Bundelkhand regions.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav had suffered a shock defeat at the hands of BJP's Subrat Pathak in Kannauj.
This time, all eyes are again on Kannauj and it is Akhilesh Yadav who is contesting the seat against Subrat Pathak.
In 2019, SP had secured second position in Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Unnao, Etawah, Kannauj and Bahraich while the BSP had ranked second in Shahjahanpur, Dhaurhara, Sitapur, Misrikh, Farrukhabad and Akbarpur. The Congress had ranked second in Kanpur.
The BJP, in the fourth phase, has repeated its sitting MP except in Kanpur and Bahraich where it has opted for new faces.
In Shahjahanpur, this time, voters will witness a three-way contest between Arun Kumar Sagar of BJP, Jyotsana Gond of the SP, and Daudram Verma of BSP.
The Lakhimpur Kheri constituency has BJP’s Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, Union Minister of State for Home, locked in a direct fight with Utkarsh Verma of the SP.
Dhaurhara will witness a showdown between sitting BJP MP Rekha Verma and Anand Bhadauria of the SP.
In Sitapur, Rajesh Varma of the BJP is challenging Rakesh Rathore of Congress. BSP candidate Mahendra Yadav is making the contest triangular.
Jai Prakash Rawat of the BJP will face Usha Verma of the SP in the Hardoi Lok Sabha constituency. The BSP candidate here is Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The Misrikh constituency will see BJP’s Ashok Kumar Rawat against Sangita Rajvanshi of the SP while the BSP candidate is B.R. Ahirwar.
Interestingly, the BSP candidates in Hardoi and Misrikh will not be able to vote for themselves on Monday.
Bhimrao Ambedkar is listed as a voter in Etawah while B.R. Ahirwar is listed as a voter in the Bithoor Assembly segment in Akbarpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Unnao is witnessing a three-way battle between Sakshi Maharaj of the BJP, Annu Tandon of the SP and Ashok Pandey of BSP.
Farrukhabad will see Mukesh Rajput from the BJP challenging Naval Kishore Shakya of the SP and Kranti Pandey of the BSP.
In Etawah, it is Ram Shankar Katheria of the BJP contesting against Jitendra Dohre of the SP and Sarika Baghel of the BSP.
Kannauj will witness a straight and keenly contested battle between Subrat Pathak of the BJP and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party. The BSP candidate here is Imran.
Kanpur's election is marked by a contest between first-time contestants. The BJP candidate is Ramesh Awasthi and is being challenged by Alok Mishra of the Congress. The BSP candidate is Kuldeep Bhadauria.
Akbarpur constituency will see sitting MP Devendra Singh ‘Bhole’ from the BJP, Raja Ram Pal of the SP, and Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi from BSP in a triangular fight.
Bahraich is another constituency after Kanpur where the BJP has replaced its sitting MP. The party has fielded Anand Gond -- son of sitting MP Akshaywar Lal Gond. The SP candidate is Ramesh Gautam while the BSP has named Birjesh as its candidate.