Lok Sabha Polls Phase 2 - 88 Seats, Focus on Wayanad and Mathura

The second phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2024 for 89 seats across 13 states is set to take place on Friday, April 26. Campaigning for Phase 2 concluded on Wednesday, April 24. Let's take a look at some of the key candidates and constituencies for this phase.

Key Candidates and Constituencies for Lok Sabha Polls, Phase 2

Rahul Gandhi - Wayanad, Kerala - Rahul Gandhi, a prominent figure in the Congress party, won the Wayanad seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a large margin. This time, he faces tough competition from Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India and K Surendran of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shashi Tharoor - Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - Shashi Tharoor, a well-known Congress leader and former UN diplomat, has been consistently winning from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. In the upcoming elections, he will be challenged by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP and Pannyan Raveendran of the CPI.

Hema Malini - Mathura, Uttar Pradesh - Hema Malini, a renowned actor-turned-politician representing the BJP, is seeking re-election from Mathura. Her main opponent is Mukesh Dhangar of the Congress.

Arun Govil - Meerut, Uttar Pradesh - Arun Govil, known for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the Ramayan TV series, is contesting from Meerut for the BJP. He faces competition from Devvrat Kumar Tyagi of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Sunita Verma of the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Om Birla - Kota Bundi, Rajasthan - Om Birla, the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha, is seeking a third consecutive victory from Kota Bundi for the BJP. His main opponent is Prahlad Gunjal of the Congress.

Santosh Pandey - Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh - Santosh Pandey, the incumbent MP from Rajnandgaon representing the BJP, is facing competition from Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress, a former chief minister.

Tejasvi Surya - Bangalore South, Karnataka - Tejasvi Surya, the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), is contesting for re-election from Bangalore South for the BJP. He will be challenged by Sowmya Reddy of the Congress.

DK Suresh - Bangalore Rural, Karnataka - DK Suresh, the brother of Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and a Congress candidate, seeks re-election from Bangalore Rural. He faces CN Manjunath, a noted cardiac surgeon, who is contesting on the BJP-JD(S) combine ticket.