LUCKNOW: The 13 seats of Uttar Pradesh set to witness polling in fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Monday, May 13, are considered to be the spine of the state as they fall in the central region.
In the past, these seats including Shahjahanpur (SC), Lakhimpur Kheri, Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Hardoi (SC), Misrikh (SC), Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah (SC), Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur and Bahraich (SC), had remained more evenly contested than the 26 constituencies that went to polls in the first three phases. But in the previous few Lok Sabha elections, the saffron surge took all of it into its fold despite the presence of formidable SP-BSP-RLD grand alliance in the fray. This time Congress and SP are together again after the 2017 UP Assembly polls.
If the challenge for BJP in this phase is the replication of its 2019 performance, the SP’s top concern is to regain the prestigious Kannauj seat.
In fact, the most prominent fight of the fourth phase in UP would be witnessed in Kannauj, the perfume capital of India. Considered to be the stronghold of the Samajwadis, this time Kannauj is set for a fierce battle between Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh and BJP’s sitting MP and a perfume trader Subrat Pathak. Pathak had defeated Akhilesh’s wife Dimple by a margin of over 12000 votes in 2019.
Meanwhile, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Etawah and Bahraich feature a big chunk of Dalit voters.
The BSP has never been able to open its account in six of the constituencies — Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj and Kanpur. The SP has historically struggled to win the Kanpur and Akbarpur seats.
SHAHJAHANPUR (SC)
The BJP won this reserved seat thrice in 1998, 2014 and 2019, the Congress twice in 1999 and 2004 while the Samajwadi Party (SP) could win this seat only once in 2009. In 2019, the BJP’s Arun Kumar Sagar won this seat by securing 58.09% votes, defeating BSP’s Amar Chand Jauhar who could garner only 35.46 per cent votes. While the BJP has repeated the sitting MP, SP has put stakes on Jyotsana Gond and BSP, who is out of the INDI Alliance has fileded Dodram Verma.
LAKHIMPUR KHERI
The BJP has won this seat four times since 1996. It registered two consecutive victories in 2014 and 2019. The SP has won here thrice while the Congress last bagged this seat in 2009.
The BJP has fielded Minister Ajay Mishra Teni yet again after he defeated SP’s Purvi Verma by securing 53.62% votes in 2019. Teni had come under huge criticism following his son Ashish Mishra's involvement in the murder of four farmers by trampling them to death under his four-wheeler on October 2, 2021. Ashish Mishra is currently out on bail.
BJP has however chosen to rely on Teni, despite the criticisms. Challenging him is the SP’s Utkarsh Verma and BSP's Anshay Kalra.
DHAUREHRA
In the last Lok Sabha election, BJP’s Rekha Verma secured 48.21% vote share to defeat the BSP’s alliance candidate Arshad Siddiqi who was restricted to 33.11% votes share. While the BJP has repeated its sitting MP Rekha Verma, the SP has fielded Anand Bhadouria. The BSP has put the bet on Shyam Kishore Awasthi.
SITAPUR
BJP’s Rajesh Verma who had defeated BSP’s Nakul Dubey in 2019 by securing 48.3% vote share is seeking another term from the seat. In 2019, Nakul Dubey had got 38.84% votes while the Congress managed to get 9% of the total votes. This time, as part of the alliance, the seat is in Congress kitty and it has fielded Rakesh Rathore against BJP’s Rajesh Verma.
HARDOI (SC)
In 2019, the BJP’s Jai Prakash Rawat had got 53.71% vote share. He had defeated SP’s Shiv Prasad Verma, who, as the SP-BSP-RLD’s joint candidate, got 41.8% of the total votes polled in the constituency.
MISRIKH (SC)
The little-known constituency is a mixture of five assembly constituencies: three borrowed from Hardoi, and one each of Sitapur and Kanpur. In 2019, the BJP’s Ashok Rawat defeated BSP’s Neelu Satyarthi who as an alliance candidate got 42.22% of the votes. While the BJP has repeated Ashok Rawat, SP has fielded Sangeeta Rajvanshi and BSP has fielded BR Ahirwar. Ashok Rawat had won the same seat in 2004 and 2009 as a BSP candidate.
UNNAO
Known as the “Land of Pen and Sword”, Unnao parliamentary constituency is dominated by Dalits who make over 30% of the total population as per the 2011 Census. After clinching a landslide victory in 2019 over SP’s Arun Shankar Shukla, BJP is repeating the sitting MP Sakshi Maharaj in Unnao. Congress is fielding Anu Tandon who had finished third with 15% of the votes in 2019 elections. BSP has named Ashok Kumar Pandey as its candidate.
FARRUKHABAD
Known to be a bastion of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid, the BJP has won this seat four times including in 1996 and 1998. The SP won twice in 1999 and 2004 and the Congress last won it in 2009. In 2019, the BJP’s Mukesh Rajput with 56.8% vote share defeated BSP’s Manoj Agrawal who secured 34.71% of the votes. While the BJP has retained its sitting MP, the SP has fielded Naval Kishore Kashyap, both being OBC candidates. The BSP has made the contest interesting by playing the Brahmin card and fielding Kranti Pandey.
ETAWAH (SC)
A known SP bastion, Etawah Lok Sabha constituency is a reserved seat with a sizeable number of Dalit voters. SP had won here in 1999, 2004 and 2009. This once elected BSP founder Kanshi Ram, too, to the Lok Sabha in 1991. The BJP won in 2014. The BJP’s Ram Shankar Katheria defeated the SP’s Kamlesh Kumar in 2019 with the Congress getting only 16,570 votes (1.61%). The BJP has repeated its sitting MP in 2024 while the SP and the BSP have fielded Jitendra Dohare and Ram Singh Baghel, respectively.
KANNAUJ
The BJP stormed the SP’s citadel in 2019 when Subrat Pathak defeated the then sitting MP Dimple Yadav, albeit by a narrow margin of just over 12,000 votes. While the BJP has repeated the sitting MP who is facing a stiff challenge from none other than SP chief Akhilesh Yadav himself who is out to reclaim the family legacy of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav while the BSP has fielded a Muslim candidate, Imran Bin Zafar.
KANPUR
In 2019, BJP’s Satyadev Pachauri with 55.6% vote share won the seat by defeating Congress’ Sri Prakash Jaiswal who managed to get 37.11% votes. This time both the BJP and the Congress have fielded Brahmin candidates Ramesh Awasthi and Alok Mishra. The BSP has given the ticket to Kuldeep Bhadauriya.
AKBARPUR
Once a BSP bastion, this constituency sent former UP CM and BSP chief Mayawati to Lok Sabha thrice in a row in 1998, 1999 and 2004. Earlier, in 1996, also the seat went to the BSP. In 2019, BJP’s Devendra Bhole with 56.62% votes defeated BSP’s candidate Nisha Sachan who secured 29.82% votes. In 2014 also, Bhole had won. In 2024, while the BJP has repeated Bhole yet again, SP has fielded Raja Ram Pal. The BSP has named a Brahmin candidate Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi.
BAHRAICH (SC)
The reserved seat is enriched with natural opulence including dense forests and rich rivers but the socio-economic and basic amenities parameters are below the national average. The BJP has won the seat five times in 1991, 1996, 1999, 2014 and 2019. The SP and the BSP won here once each in 2004 and 1998. The Congress also registered its victory here last in 2009. In 2019, the BJP’s Akshaibar Lal won the seat by defeating the SP’s Shabbir Valmiki with 53.12% votes. This time the BJP has replaced the sitting MP with Anand Gond while the SP has nominated Ramesh Gautam. BSP candidate is Birjesh.
