Phase 5 of 2024 Lok Sabha polls: 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh to vote on Monday, Rajnath Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani among key candidates

The BJP had won 13 of these 14 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, losing only in Rae Bareli, which was retained by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi

Several political heavyweights, including defence minister Rajnath Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, are in the fray for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election that will be held in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. Thirty-nine constituencies in the state have already witnessed polling in the first four phases. The state has 80 Lok Sabha seats, the maximum in the country.

Polling officials leave for their booths for the fifth phase of the general election at Smriti Upvan in Lucknow on Sunday. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

The 14 Lok Sabha constituencies that will vote in the fifth phase in Uttar Pradesh are Mohanlalganj (SC), Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun (SC), Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Kaisarganj and Gonda. The BJP had won 13 of these 14 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, losing only in Rae Bareli, which was retained by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

Besides Rajnath Singh, who is seeking a third term from Lucknow, this phase will decide the electoral fate of Union ministers and BJP leaders Smriti Irani (Amethi), Kaushal Kishore (Mohanlalganj), Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur) and Bhanu Pratap Verma (Jalaun).

Rahul Gandhi is contesting from his family borough Rae Bareli against Uttar Pradesh horticulture minister Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP. Gandhi had lost the Amethi seat to Smriti Irani in 2019 but won the Wayanad seat in Kerala.

In all, there are 144 candidates in these 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in U.P.

Former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya is the Congress candidate in Jhansi and former Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam Patel is his party’s nominee in Fatehpur.

Among political heirs, six-time MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s son Karan Bhusan Singh is the BJP candidate in Kaiserganj as the party dropped the father after women wrestlers accused him of sexual harassment.

Tanuj Punia, son of Congress leader PL Punia, is contesting from Barabanki, while Shreya Verma, granddaughter of Samajwadi Party veteran leader the late Beni Prasad Verma, is in the fray from Gonda.

Pushpendra Saroj, son of SP leader Indrajit Saroj is contesting from Kaushambi on the Samajwadi Party ticket.

A by-poll will be held in the Lucknow East assembly constituency.

The BJP has fielded 11 of its sitting Lok Sabha MPs in this phase, while it has fielded new candidates in Barabanki (SC) and Kaisarganj. The SP is contesting 10 seats and its INDIA bloc partner the Congress four.

Going solo, the BSP has fielded candidates on all 14 seats, setting the pitch for a triangular contest.