Lok Sabha Polls 2024: 6 contests in UP to watch out for in Phase 3 voting today— Yadavs, BJP heavyweights in the fray

Ten of the total 80 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh are set to witness a high-voltage battle in the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections on Tuesday. The 10 seats voting in Phase 3 on May 7 are – Sambhal, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Aonla and Bareilly.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2024: Full list of 93 seats voting in Phase 3

Key candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Phase 3 polls in UP include Dimple Yadav, the wife of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, and five new faces of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Here's a list key UP candidates contesting the Lok Sabha Elections in Phase 3:

1. Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat: SP's Dimple Yadav Vs BJP's Jaiveer Singh

Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an SP candidate from Mainpuri. She has been pitted against BJP candidate and Uttar Pradesh's Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase 3: Amit Shah, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dimple Yadav, others stand at fate's crossroads

The Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency has been the bastion of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's family. The seat was earlier held by party patriarch Mulayam Singh. He won the Lok Sabha polls from Mainpuri in 2019 and 2014. The seat fell vacant after his death on October 10, 2022.

Later, Dimple Yadav won the Mainpuri parliamentary by-election in December 2022 by defeating BJP's Raghuraj Singh Shakya by a margin of 2,88,461 votes.

ALSO READ: How can BJP+ achieve 400-seat target? Top pollster Pradeep Gupta explains ahead of the third phase of polling tomorrow

2. Firozabad Lok Sabha seat: SP's Akshaya Yadav Vs Vishwadeep Singh

This Lok Sabha election, the SP is trying win back the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat by fielding former MP Akshaya Yadav. He is the son of Ram Gopal Yadav, the national principal general secretary of SP.

Firozabad is a stronghold that the SP lost to the BJP in the 2019 polls. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party won the seat for three consecutive times since 1999 and also in 2014. Vishwadeep Singh is the BJP candidate in Firozabad.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha election Phase 4: Over 1,700 candidates to contest across 10 states and UTs

Akshaya Yadav, who had lost the Firozabad seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, has been renominated by the party to contest against BJP’s Vishwadeep Singh. Singh has replaced sitting MP Chandrasen Jadon.

3. Budaun Lok Sabha seat: SP's Aditya Yadav Vs BJP's Durvijay Singh Shakya

Aditya Yadav, the son of SP leader Shivpal Yadav, is making his electoral debut from the Budaun Lok Sabha seat. This Lok Sabha seat was represented by Aditya's cousin Dharmendra Yadav in 2014.

Aditya will fight against the BJP's Durvijay Singh Shakya. According to reports, the Shakya community holds significant influence in the Bilsi assembly constituency in the Budaun Lok Sabha segment. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) has fielded Muslim Khan from the Budaun seat.

The Budaun Lok Sabha constituency has been an SP bastion since 1996. The seat was won by the BJP in 2019.

4. Agra (SC) Lok Sabha seat: BJP's SP Baghel Vs SP's Suresh Chandra Kardan

Union Minister SP Singh Baghel will fight for the Agra Lok Sabha seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) as a BJP candidate. Baghel will contest against Suresh Chandra Kardan of the SP and Pooja Amrohi of the BSP.

The Agra parliamentary seat was a Congress bastion earlier. However, in the last two decades, this seat has been won by either the BJP or the SP. The BJP has won the Agra Lok Sabha seat five times, since 1991, and three times in a row since 2009.

5. Hathras (SC) Lok Sabha seat: BJP's Anoop Pradhan Balmiki Vs SP's Jasveer Balmiki

Uttar Pradesh's Minister of State for Revenue Anoop Pradhan Balmiki is fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections from the Hathras seat as the BJP candidate. He will contest against Jasveer Balmiki of the SP.

6. Etah Lok Sabha seat: BJP's Rajveer Singh Vs SP's Devesh Shakya

BJP's Rajveer Singh, the son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BJP stalwart Kalyan Singh, is looking to score a hat-trick from the Etah Lok Sabha constituency. He is pitted against SP's Devesh Shakya and BSP's Mohammad. Irfan. The Etah seat was represented by Kalyan Singh as a candidate of the Jan Kranti Party in 2009. 

In the Phase 3 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has fielded one candidate -- Ramnath Singh Sikarwar from Fatehpur Sikri. Its INDIA bloc ally, the Samajwadi Party, has fielded candidates in the remaining nine seats in this phase. Over 1.88 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 100 candidates in this phase.

The BJP has fielded five new faces – Chhatrapal Gangwar from Bareilly, Durvijay Singh Shakya from Budaun, Anoop Pradhan Balmiki from Hathras-SC, Vishwadeep Singh from Firozabad, and Jaiveer Singh from Mainpuri. The party retained the winning candidates from Etah, Agra (SC), Aonla, and Fatehpur Sikri. It also gave a ticket to Parameshwar Lal Saini from Sambhal Lok Sabha seat.

(With inputs from agencies)