LUCKNOW: The fight for 14 Lok Sabha seats of Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh in the fifth phase will be a taxing one for all parties, with bigwigs set to cross swords. While four of the 14 seats are reserved constituencies- — Mohanlalganj, Barabanki, Kaushambi and Bahraich —the biggest VVIP battles will be fought in Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi and Dhaurahra. The crucial heartland of Awadh involving six seats is also up for grabs with Sitapur, Banda, Fatehpur, Faizabad, Kaiserganj and Gonda set to see close contests on May 6.
Awadh is dominated by upper castes, which normally would mean an advantage to the BJP. While the Congress is faced with the challenge of increasing its tally from the dismal two in 2014, BJP, which had won 12 of those 14 seats is looking for a convincing repeat. Both SP and BSP had failed to win any seats the last time.
In Lucknow, Rajnath Singh is seeking re-election but faces the challenge of preserving the legacy of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who won five times from 1991 to 2004. The Congress has fielded Acharya Pramod Krishnam, chief of Kalki Ashram, Sambhal, while the SP has fielded Poonam Sinha, wife of BJP rebel Shatrughan Sinha hoping to cash in on the sizeable Kayastha and Sindhi votes.
The most riveting joust will be in Amethi where Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will face BJP’s Smriti irani for the second time. Similarly, UP chairperson Sonia Gandhi faces a challenge from former party MLC Devendra Pratap Singh who joined the saffron bandwagon in September 2018.
The SP-BSP alliance has not fielded any candidate to minimise division of votes in either constituencies, which helps the Gandhis, but in Dhaurahra, Jitin Prasad faces a tough challenge from sitting BJP MP Rekha Verma and BSP’s Arshad Ilyas Azmi.
Interesting duels
The most riveting fight will be in Amethi where Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will face BJP’s Smriti irani for a second time. In Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi faces a challenge from former party MLC Devendra Pratap Singh.