Rahul Gandhi, Bhupesh Baghel, Om Birla…how many VIPs in the second phase, see the complete list here

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 2: Lok Sabha Elections Voting for the second phase is taking place on Friday (April 26). Voting is being held on all 20 seats in Kerala and 88 seats in 13 states/union territories, including eight seats in Uttar Pradesh. Many VIP candidates are in the fray in the second phase of voting, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, BJP leaders and Union ministers Rajiv Chandrashekhar and HD Kumaraswamy.

However, according to the schedule of the Election Commission, voting was to be held on 89 seats in the second phase, but BSP candidate Ashok Bhalawi died in Betul Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh. After this, it has been decided to hold voting on this seat in some other phase. Because of this, elections are being held today only on 88 seats. In such a situation, let us know which VIP candidate is contesting on which seat during the second phase of voting.

VIP candidates of second phase

• Rahul Gandhi (Congress): The Congress leader is contesting the elections for the second time from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat of Kerala. He is the biggest face of the opposition. Rahul has been a Lok Sabha MP four times. Presently he is an MP from Wayanad.
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (BJP): Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is one of the senior leaders of BJP. He has been a Lok Sabha MP twice. Shekhawat is contesting from Jodhpur seat of Rajasthan. He is a big face of BJP in Rajasthan.
• Om Birla (BJP): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is once again contesting from Kota seat of Rajasthan. He has been a Lok Sabha MP twice. Birla has been in the news for his actions as Lok Sabha Speaker.
• Bhupesh Baghel (Congress): Former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel is also contesting from Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat of the state. He has been a five-time MLA. Apart from this, he has also taken command of Chhattisgarh Congress.
• Shashi Tharoor (Congress): Shashi Tharoor is again in the fray from Thiruvananthapuram seat of Kerala. He is a Lok Sabha MP for three consecutive terms. He has been the Minister of State for External Affairs in the Manmohan government. Tharoor has also served as former Under Secretary General of the United Nations.
• Rajeev Chandrashekhar (BJP): BJP has fielded Rajiv Chandrashekhar from Thiruvananthapuram seat of Kerala. He is the Minister of State for Skill Development in the Modi government. Chandrashekhar has been a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka. Apart from this, he has also served as the national spokesperson of BJP.
• HD Kumaraswamy (JDS): The former Chief Minister of Karnataka is contesting from Mandya seat of the state. He is the President of Janata Dal Secular i.e. JDS. Kumaraswamy is also the son of former PM HD Deve Gowda.
• Shobha Karandlaje (BJP): BJP has given ticket to Shobha Karandlaje from Bengaluru North, Karnataka. She has been the Minister of State for Agriculture in the Modi government. Apart from this, she has also been a Lok Sabha MP twice. In 2019, he won from Udupi Chikmagalur.
• Tejashwi Surya (BJP): BJP has fielded Tejasvi Surya from Bengaluru South. Surya is the national president of BJP Yuva Morcha. He won the elections for the first time in 2019. Surya has been in controversies many times.
• Kailash Chaudhary (BJP): Kailash Choudhary is contesting elections from Barmer-Jaisalmer of Rajasthan. He is the Minister of State for Agriculture in the Modi government. Chaudhary is the Jat face of BJP in Rajasthan. This time he is stuck in a tough fight.
• Ravindra Singh Bhati (Independent): Ravindra Singh Bhati has contested from Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate. Bhati is an independent MLA from Shiv Assembly. When he did not get the ticket from BJP, he decided to contest as an independent candidate. He has launched a campaign against BJP across the country.
• Vaibhav Gehlot (Congress): Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, is contesting from Jalore seat of Rajasthan. In 2019, he lost the election from Jodhpur. Vaibhav has been the former president of Rajasthan Cricket Association.
• C P Joshi (BJP): BJP has given ticket to Rajasthan Party President CP Joshi from Chittorgarh Lok Sabha seat of Rajasthan. He is a two-time Lok Sabha member. Joshi comes from RSS background.
• Dushyant Singh (BJP): Dushyant Singh, son of former CM Vasundhara Raje, is contesting from Jhalawar-Baran seat of Rajasthan. He is a four-time Lok Sabha MP. Dushyant belongs to the Dholpur royal family.
• Danish Ali (Congress): Danish Ali, who came into limelight due to the controversial statement of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, is contesting from Amroha seat of Uttar Pradesh. He won the last election on BSP ticket. He has joined Congress shortly before the elections.
• Arun Govil (BJP): Arun Govil is contesting from Meerut seat of UP. He has played the role of Ram in the famous Ramayana serial. Govil joined BJP in 2021. He is contesting elections for the first time.
• Mahesh Sharma (BJP): BJP has given ticket to Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Buddha Nagar seat of UP. He has been a minister in the Modi government. Sharma is a two-time MP. He has also been the former president of the Indian Medical Association.
• Hema Malini (BJP): Heroine Hema Malini, popularly known as ‘Dream Girl’, is contesting elections from Mathura seat of UP. She is a two-time Lok Sabha MP. Hema Malini has also been a Rajya Sabha MP twice.
• Prakash Ambedkar (VBA): Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He is contesting from Akola seat of Maharashtra. Prakash is the president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. Has been a Lok Sabha MP twice.
• Navneet Rana (BJP): BJP has given ticket to Navneet Rana from Amravati seat of Maharashtra. He is a big face of Hindutva in Maharashtra. Navneet had won as an independent in 2019. She was a heroine before coming into politics.
• Tariq Anwar (Congress): Senior leader Tariq Anwar is contesting elections from Katihar seat of Bihar on Congress ticket. He has been the MP of Katihar five times. Tariq was a minister in the Manmohan government and has also been in NCP for a long time.
• Pappu Yadav (Independent): Pappu Yadav is contesting as an independent candidate from Purnia seat of Bihar. He has been MLA five times and MP twice. Pappu’s wife Ranjit Ranjan is a Congress MP.
• Sukanta Majumdar (BJP): Sukant Majumdar is contesting from Balurghat in West Bengal. He is the President of Bengal BJP. Majumdar won the elections for the first time in 2019.

Also read: Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live: Voting begins on 88 seats in 13 states, credibility of stalwarts like Rahul Gandhi, Hema Malini, Tharoor, Pappu Yadav at stake.