LS polls: 49 constituencies in eight states and UTs to vote in fifth phase on May 20

New Delhi [India], May 18 (ANI): People from 49 constituencies across eight States and Union territories will be voting in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20, during which several key candidates will be in the fray.
The states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal will be going to polls in the fifth phase, along with two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir; and Ladakh.
Notably, the fifth phase is the smallest in terms of number of seats being polled across all seven phases.
The following seats will vote on May 20 across the eight states and Union Territories:
Maharashtra: Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central and Mumbai South.
Uttar Pradesh: Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad/Ayodhya, Kaiserganj and Gonda.
Bihar: Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Hajipur.
Jharkhand: Chatra, Koderma, Hazaribagh.
West Bengal: Barrackpur, Bangaon, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambagh.
Ladakh: The sole constituency of Ladakh, will go to polls first time since the abrogation of Article 370.
Jammu and Kashmir: The Baramulla constituency will go to polls first time since the abrogation of Article 370.
From Rahul Gandhi to Smriti Irani, from Karan Bhushan Singh to Chirag Paswan; many big names will have their fate at stake during the fifth phase of general elections.
Other big names like Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief Omar Abdullah, and RJD leader Rohini Acharya will also be seeking electoral success.
Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma, the Gandhi family's close aide, has been fielded against Smriti Irani in Amethi. Being tasked with wresting power from the BJP, KL Sharma has exuded confidence in winning the polls.
He is up against incumbent MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani. She ended the Gandhi family's stint in 2019 by defeating Rahul Gandhi by over 55,000 votes.
Rahul Gandhi, who also contested from Wayanad, will be aiming to retain the lone standing bastion of the party in the state -- Raebareli.
On Friday, Sonia Gandhi in her public address, had urged people to vote for her son, Rahul Gandhi.
"I am handing over my son to you, you have to accept him just like you accepted me, he won't disappoint," she said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be aiming for a third straight win in Lucknow. He will face Samajwadi Party candidate Ravidas Mehrotra in this seat
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time is up against Congress' Bhushan Patil from the Mumbai North seat.
BJP has fielded 26/11 special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, replacing two-time MP Poonam Mahajan against Congress' Varsha Gaikwad from Maharashtra's Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat.
After much contention, BJP dropped Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj after sexual harassment allegations by female wrestlers. The party has fielded his son Karan Bhushan Singh from the seat, who will be seeking to retain his family stronghold.
LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan is aiming to carry forward his father Ram Vilas Paswan's legacy. He is pitted against RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram.
Rohini Acharya, the daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, is contesting against BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy who registered resounding wins against Lalu Prasad's kin in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the first general elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, Baramulla will go to polls on May 20. National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is pitted against Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC) and Mir Mohammad Fayaz of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Ladakh is going to polls as a separate union territory for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 bifurcated the erstwhile state into UTs J-K and Ladakh. BJP's Tashi Galsyan is pitted against Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal.
The general elections are being held across seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 19, April 26, May 7, and May 13, while the subsequent phases are scheduled on May 20, May 27 and June 1. The counting of votes will happen on June 4.
While Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third straight term in power, while the Opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest back power from the incumbent BJP. (ANI)