Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Kanhaiya Kumar Vs Manoj Tiwari, Bansuri Swaraj Vs Somnath Bharti; Key Battles in Delhi LS Polls

With voting already concluded in 428 Lok Sabha constituencies across 25 states and Union territories over five phases, attention now shifts to the penultimate phase of the general election. This phase will involve polling for 58 seats, including all seven seats in Delhi. The high-energy campaign for this sixth phase, which saw Union ministers, chief ministers, and senior political leaders visiting the national capital, concluded on Thursday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won all seven Lok Sabha seats in the previous election, has decided to drop all MPs except Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi. Meanwhile, AAP and Congress have formed a seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi as part of the opposition INDIA bloc. AAP is fielding candidates in four of Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats, while Congress will contest the remaining three.

The BJP’s campaign featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing two rallies, alongside Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal. Additionally, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), and Pramod Sawant (Goa), were actively involved.

The Congress campaign was spearheaded by its president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, and Sachin Pilot, among others. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, currently out on interim bail until June 1, conducted roadshows supporting both AAP and Congress candidates.

During Kejriwal’s time in jail, his wife Sunita Kejriwal led roadshows for party candidates. Senior party leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjay Singh, and Gopal Rai also held numerous public meetings and outreach activities under the “Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se” campaign.

With 162 candidates contesting, the North East Delhi constituency has the highest number of contenders.

Key Battles to Watch

New Delhi: AAP MLA Somnath Bharti is competing against BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj. Bansuri is leveraging her mother’s legacy, while Bharti relies on AAP’s local governance reputation to win this high-profile seat.

North East Delhi: Congress’ Kanhaiya Kumar is challenging two-time MP Manoj Tiwari in the North East Delhi constituency. Tiwari is aiming for a third consecutive term. Notably, both Tiwari and Kumar hail from Bihar and are targeting the Purvanchali vote base.

East Delhi: The BJP has replaced sitting MP Gautam Gambhir with Harsh Malhotra, a 60-year-old LLB graduate, after Gambhir requested to be relieved of political duties to focus on his cricket commitments. Malhotra will contest against AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar, a 35-year-old sitting MLA from the Kondli assembly constituency.