Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
Nitin Gadkari, the Union Road and Transport Minister, aims for his third consecutive victory from Nagpur, having won by significant margins in 2014 and 2019. Meanwhile, Union minister Kiren Rijiju seeks reelection from Arunachal West, facing competition from former chief minister Nabam Tuki.
Sarbanada Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, is contesting from Dibrugarh in Assam, hoping to return to the Lok Sabha. He was given a ticket instead of Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli.
The electoral battleground of Muzaffarnagar features Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan, Samajwadi Party's Harindra Malik, and BSP's Dara Singh Prajapati in a three-way contest.
Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in PM Narendra Modi's cabinet, seeks a third term from Udhampur. In Rajasthan's Alwar district, Union minister Bhupendra Yadav faces Congress MLA Lalit Yadav for the seat previously held by Balak Nath.
In another Rajasthan contest, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal competes against former Congress minister Govind Ram Meghwal in Bikaner.
The Nilgiris constituency in Tamil Nadu is set for a compelling face-off between DMK's A Raja and BJP's L Murugan, the Union Minister of State for Fisheries. Murugan, a former Rajya Sabha member, is contesting here for the first time.
Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram aims for reelection in a seat previously held by his father, facing off against BJP's T Devanathan Yadav and AIADMK's Xavier Dass.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai will contest in Coimbatore against DMK's Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK's Singai Ramachandran.
Former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan returns to active politics, contesting from Chennai South against DMK's Kanimozhi and candidates from Tamil Maanila Congress and AIADMK.
In Chhindwara, Nakul Nath, son of former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, seeks reelection after securing the seat for Congress in 2019.
West Tripura's contest features former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb against state Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha.
Gaurav Gogoi, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha, shifts to Jorhat after the delimitation exercise, facing BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi.
Manipur's Inner Manipur seat sees BJP's Basanta Kumar Singh against Congress' Bimal Akoijam, both prominent figures in their communities.
Lastly, Churu in Rajasthan is set for a unique match between BJP's Devendra Jhajharia, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, and Congress' Rahul Kaswan, who recently switched parties after being denied a BJP ticket.
The results of these elections will be declared on June 4.
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