PM Modi is contesting from UP's Varanasi which he won in the 2014 and 2019 polls
As the seven-phase Lok Sabha election that started on April 19 draws to an end, a total of 904 candidates are hoping for a good show in the last phase of polling today. Fifty-seven seats across eight states and Union Territories are voting today. Among the candidates are several heavyweights from across the political aisle.
Here is a look at some key candidates in this phase
Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Modi, who is eyeing a third term, is the BJP's candidate from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, a seat he won in the 2014 and the 2019 polls. The eastern UP seat is among the most high-profile constituencies of the country, now that it is represented by the Prime Minister. Since the 1990s, the BJP has lost Varanasi only once - in the 2004 polls. Last time, Prime Minister Modi won the seat with a margin of 4.79 lakh votes. This time, the INDIA bloc has fielded UP Congress chief Ajay Rai against the BJP's most prominent candidate. Mr Rai had contested from Varanasi in 2019 too, but finished third.
Anurag Thakur: The country's Information and Broadcasting minister, who also holds the sports portfolio, is contesting from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur seat, which he has won four times in a row. The 50-year-old minister, who is among the prominent voices in the Narendra Modi government, is up against former Congress MLA Satpal Raizada. There are 17 Assembly segments under the Hamirpur parliamentary seat, six of which are held by the Congress. In fact, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri are MLAs from two of these segments. So, the Congress is going all-out to make the contest tough for Mr Thakur, who won in 2019 by a margin of nearly 4 lakh votes.
Kangana Ranaut: The Queen actor is making her election debut from Himachal's Mandi, a seat currently held by Pratibha Singh, state Congress chief and wife of six-time Chief Minister, late Virbhadra Singh. The 37-year-old actor, who is from Himachal, joined the BJP shortly before the election. Mandi has been a stronghold of Virbhadra Singh's family, but the BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma won it in 2014 and 2019. His death in 2021 forced a bye-election, in which Pratibha Singh was elected. This time, Pratibha Singh's son and state minister Vikramaditya Singh is the Congress's candidate in the high-profile contest.
Abhishek Banerjee: The nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and No. 2 in Trinamool Congress, Abhishek Banerjee is contesting from Diamond Harbour, a seat he has won twice. The Trinamool general secretary, who has now emerged as the second most prominent face of the party, is up against the CPM's Pratikur Rahaman and BJP's Abhijit Das in this Lok Sabha contest. Mr Banerjee won the 2019 polls by a margin of 3.21 lakh votes.
Misa Bharti: Rajya Sabha MP and eldest daughter of RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav, Misa Bharti is contesting from Bihar's Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat this time as INDIA Opposition bloc's candidate. Ms Bharti's earlier attempts to win the constituency in 2014 and 2019 had failed as the BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav, once a close confidant of Lalu Prasad Yadav, tasted victory. This time, too, Ms Bharti is up against Ram Kripal Yadav.
Ravi Kishan: The actor-politician has been retained by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, which he won in the 2019 election. The Gorakhpur seat is a BJP stronghold and has been with the party for over three decades now - BJP's firebrand leader and current Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath won the seat five times in a row. Samajwadi Party's Praveen Kumar Nishad had pulled off a surprise win in the 2018 bypolls, but was defeated by Ravi Kishan the next year. Praveen Kumar Nishad is now with the BJP. This time, Samajwadi Party has chosen Kajal Nishad, also an actor, for the big fight against Ravi Kishan.