Lucknow. The fifth phase of elections is to be held on 14 seats of Awadh and Bundelkhand. Votes for this will be cast on 20 May. In the 2019 elections, BJP won 13 of these seats and Congress won one. In the last election, in the SP-BSP alliance, SP contested seven of these 14 seats (Lucknow, Jhansi, Banda, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad and Gonda) and came second, while BSP contested five (Mohanlalganj, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Fatehpur and Kaiserganj). In two seats Amethi and Rae Bareli, SP did not field its candidates in support of Congress.

The fifth phase is also important for India because it includes elections for Congress' Rae Bareli and Amethi seats. This time, Sonia Gandhi's son and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting from her Rae Bareli seat.

KL Sharma is contesting against Smriti Irani in Amethi  

At the same time, Kishori Lal Sharma, who is very close to the Gandhi family, is contesting against BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi. Rahul Gandhi had lost the last election from here. To win these two seats, which have become a matter of prestige for the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and SP President Akhilesh Yadav will hold a joint public meeting here on May 17. Congress National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is camping here.

Despite Faizabad being a general seat, SP has played the Dalit card this time. SP has fielded senior Samajwadi leader and nine-time MLA Awadhesh Prasad from here. After the construction of the grand Ram temple, BJP also wants to send a message to the whole country by winning this seat. BJP's Lallu Singh is in the fray for his third consecutive victory from here.

Kaiserganj seat has been with SP continuously from 1996 to 2009. This time SP has fielded Bhagat Ram Mishra from here. Karan Bhushan Singh, son of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is contesting from Kaiserganj.

Electoral equations

Fatehpur Lok Sabha seat has also become a matter of prestige for SP. Former SP state president Naresh Uttam Patel is contesting from here. However, his difficulties have increased a bit due to the withdrawal of the post of state president after his ticket was confirmed.

Pushpendra Saroj, son of SP national general secretary Indrajit Saroj, is contesting from Kaushambi. SP is also putting full force on the Mohanlalganj seat of Lucknow. This seat has been continuously with the SP from 1998 to 2009. This time SP has placed its bet on RK Chaudhary.

BJP's Union Minister of State Kaushal Kishore is in the fray to score a hat trick. Jhansi seat is also important for the Congress and SP alliance. Congress has fielded its former minister Pradeep Jain Aditya from here. Here on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have tried to create an atmosphere for INDIAN by holding a joint public meeting. Congress and SP alliance is also putting its strength on Barabanki seat. Tanuj Punia, son of senior Congress leader PL Punia, is contesting the election here. However, how successful the alliance will be, only the results on June 4 will tell.

Granddaughter bets on her father's seat

In 2009, Samajwadi Party veteran Beni Prasad Verma won the Gonda Lok Sabha seat. He contested the 2014 elections on a Congress ticket and lost. Now, his granddaughter and daughter of former Samajwadi Party minister Rakesh Verma, Shreya Verma, is contesting from his seat. After studying at Welham Girls School in Dehradun, Shreya has done Economics Honours from Ramjas College in Delhi.